Truth Will Out
by JustAudrey07
Summary: Positive it is some Malfoy plot of revenge, Ron and Hermione forbid their only daughter from seeing Scorpius. But when Hugo, Albus and the rest of the cousins come forward with memories to the contrary, can they continue their defacing claims?
1. Prologue: A Proper Introduction

Truth Will Out

Prologue: A Proper Introduction

It was not a dark and stormy night.

In fact it was about as far from a dark and stormy night as possible. The sun was shining merrily, uninhibited except for a few fluffy white clouds that toted along with the pleasant breeze. Birds chirped in happy melodies, singing their praises to a winter past and a comfortable summer that was surely on its way. The waves of the lake lapped upon the shore in a steady rhythm, dancing with a few of the students who celebrated the end of exams with one final dip in its cool waters. And, if one looked close enough and at the right time, one might see a delicate butterfly land gracefully on the end of a cuddly rabbit's nose.

Scorpius Malfoy could not help but sigh in disgust.

This was not the kind of weather he needed right now. He longed for a dark and stormy night, or at least a murky morning fog with that obnoxious kind of drizzle that wasn't quite rain but still left your socks damp when you walked outside and made you miserable for the rest of the day because you could just feel your feet pruning in your boots. He wanted something he could brood efficiently too. He was a very good brooder, one of the best actually, but even he couldn't help but feel stupid sulking as a pair of hummingbirds whizzed playfully around his head.

He leaned in defeat against a sturdy tree as he sighed again and gave up his practiced brood for quiet self-reflection. There had been a time where he could stand quietly in the back, looking sexy, angry and troubled in any situation and be noticed with hardly any effort. It was part of his appeal; his mystique. It gave him his edge.

But now he just felt like a glowering idiot standing there alone on such a beautiful day. Perhaps his brood was broken; rusty from disuse. Perhaps the last couple of months he had spent not brooding had dissolved his years of perfection. Perhaps since he had spent the last couple of months feeling like this very day (sunny, pleasant, happy, etc.) he had lost his uncanny ability to look dark in the brightest of lights. Perhaps he had actually lost the very thing that made the old him the old him. His outward aloof, threatening yet somehow still charming appearance had been destroyed because he no longer had a need for such a stance.

Scorpius Malfoy was in love.

And the good kind too. The kind where the girl loved you back. The kind where your stomach fluttered when she grabbed your hand. The kind where you felt like the king of the world because you knew she could have anyone she wanted but she chose you to let carry her books and your lap to drape her shapely legs over when you studied together. The kind where even though you had gone much further (all the way further) with other girls, something about successfully getting her small, perfect, befreckled nose out of a text book so it could rub against yours as you snogged madly was by far the sexiest thing you had ever experienced.

The kind where you admitted your mistakes despite claims of perfection. The kind where you went frantic when she was upset (especially when it was because of you) and you went through surprising lengths to make her smile even though that was so not what a cool person would do. The kind where you realize things are so much easier when you just tell the truth and the kind where nothing makes you feel as high, or euphoric or happy as just being around her.

Scorpius sighed redundantly for a third time, running his fingers through his once again full and lush hair. It was a recently returned sensation to be able to do such a thing after having lost all of it a few months back. He was glad he once again looked normal. Not because his hair was the most precious thing to him as it once had been (and for good reason, it was amazing hair) but because now he could look in the mirror and not be reminded about all the painful things he had put himself, his family, his friends, and his girl through this past year. His terrible mistakes that had almost lost him everything and still loomed in the darkest part of his heart were at least no longer visible on his head.

His eyes still sunk in a bit and he secretly planned to start using some concealer to hide this, but that was between him and his mother's makeup bag only.

Yes, things at this moment were perfect, much like the gorgeous summer day that lay before him. He did not sigh or attempt to brood because of what was, he did so for what was to come. Everything he had gone through in the past few years, every tear he had failed to suppress, every brick wall he had punched in frustration, every painful test and obstacle he and his love had overcome had been worth it now that they finally were together. He had told her he would do anything for her and he meant it.

But now? Now came a real test of faith. A test that he could so easily see breaking apart the strong bond they had worked so hard to forge.

He had once been told all you need is love. Whoever said that obviously didn't have parents with a history of hating the parents of their girlfriend. What the hell were you supposed to do when people you loved hated each other?

He'd have to ask Lucy one day. Maybe then she'd stop saying idiotic things like that and "I am the Walrus".

"Why are you brooding?" an amused voice inquired from behind. Scorpius whipped around so quickly he almost knocked into the tree he leaned against.

_That's another thing you've zapped from me, Woman. My brood and my grace._

"I'm not brooding, I'm ruminating," he replied, showing off his smirk that was as much a part of him as her cinnamon curls were a part of her. She let out her infectious laugh as she placed a wicker basket at her feet.

"Then why are you ruminating?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck. Scorpius replied by engulfing her in a hug and burying himself in her hair. He then began to groan in verbal response causing her to laugh again.

"I honestly don't know what you're so worried about," she stated, giving him a kiss before setting up their breakfast picnic.

"There a plenty of things to worry about this summer," he retorted. "West Nile, Dragon Fires from the drought, telling our parents about us dating…not in that particular order either."

"Scorpius," she sighed in exasperation, though with not nearly as much annoyed gusto as he was accustomed to. This exhalation was actually remarkably endearing, prompting him to drop his sarcasm and his ass to lie next to her on her blanket.

"Sorry," he grimaced, grabbing her hand and squeezing it before she started setting out the food. "It's just not going to be easy."

"And since when have you shied away from something just because it wasn't easy?" she asked with a smile.

"All the time!" he answered quickly. "I always go the easy way out. I have rich parents. I don't have to do anything I don't want to according to my mother."

Rose shot him another skeptical look, both over the ostentatious statement and the blunt lie that it was his mother who taught him such a thing.

"Getting together with me wasn't easy," she replied as she set out a thermos of tea.

"Yeah, but I _wanted_ you. I don't mind hard work when I want something," he implied strongly.

"You don't want our parents knowing about us?" she asked with a hint of trepidation in her voice as she stopped arranging their breakfast.

"Not…I mean…" Scorpius felt stuck. They had already had this conversation a dozen times in the last fortnight. Rose and Scorpius (well, and Albus and James and Hugo and Lily and Lucy and pretty much the whole blasted Weasley clan) had been mates for years. Though after time Scorpius had come to see Rose and Albus as his true friends, his family demands and position in his House made being completely open with them difficult. He refrained from being with them as often as he wanted and always kept up a half-hearted space of distance. Rose and Albus alternated between annoyance and amusement at his pretense (or more realistically _she_ was annoyed and _he_ was amused). But in the end they more or less understood his situation and respected it. And though he was never told such a thing he felt it very likely that Rose and Albus downplayed his effect on their lives to their parents, if they even mentioned his friendship at all. It was just easier that way.

But now that he and Rose decided they wanted to be together it became clear that all of that had to change. Though they were only at the end of their 6th year they both had hopes that this match would be a long term commitment. Scorpius knew nothing had ever come close to what he felt for Rose and he knew that he had to make some changes to keep her. So he "came out" in front of his Slytherin peers and dropped his pretenses of liking or disliking things he really didn't.

Which was really no big deal, as those that really cared about him and those things were all scum-guzzling cunts who he would rather hex than associate with.

As for telling their parents…well, he and Rose seemed to differ on how they would react.

"I honestly think you're making a bigger fuss about this than you need to be," she stated factually, pouring him a cuppa.

"What, you think they'll be thrilled to hear you're dating Draco Malfoy's son?" he asked, eyeing his laudably full plate with a curved eyebrow. "You think your father will start a jig and your mum will call us Malfoy lot over for dinner?"

"No," she answered with a hint of offended snap. "I'm not stupid or naive. I just think our parents will give us more credit than you believe. We're both responsible, hardworking students at the top of our class. We're both prefects…"

"I'm a _suspended_ prefect, if you recall," he added, knowing he was pushing her good graces but finding it necessary to do so.

"Yes, but you've already done so much to prove yourself," she urged, mindlessly stroking his hair at the comment. "And McGonagall has already said she plans to reinstate you next year, maybe even as Head Boy…"

"I just really don't think some community service is going to please your parents after what I did. Not to mention who I look like…" He tried hard to fight off his instinctual sarcasm, hoping she would notice and really hear what he was trying to say.

"Look, I don't know about you and your parents, but I have a real solid relationship with Mum and Dad. They know me and respect my decisions. They treat me like an adult. They may not be thrilled about it at first but I know they'll come around," she cooed with reassurance.

Scorpius held his breath to keep another sigh from escaping.

Rose was smart. Brilliant. Frightfully so. She could do things with a wand and a quill that blew his own remarkable skills out of the water. Rose worked hard for the things she wanted. She studied furiously and protectively. And yes, her passion for excellence and her Weasley inclination to see things in black and white sometimes alienated her from a few people at first. She had to work to tone things back and step out of her head upon occasion for her best side to shine out. The compassionate, funny, totally enchanting side that would make anyone's life incomplete without.

Rose was not perfect nor had life exactly been a cauldron cakewalk for her. However…

She was the daughter of Ron and Hermione Weasley. The niece of Harry Potter. Her whole extended family were bloody living heroes. Though all the Weasley and Potter children were fairly down to earth considering such linage there were a few things they never had to experience. They were all immediately loved by association. Peers wanted to be friends with them, Professors wanted to examine their skills. Rose was well loved by her parents, well-liked by others and very, very sheltered.

Scorpius' life had not been as pleasant. Scorpius…well, it was safe to say he knew a thing or two about biasedness and the fact that his mere presence tended to bring out the worst in (supposedly) good people. Rose had a belief that with hard work and passion she could attain any goal. Scorpius knew that no matter how hard you tried some impressions and ideas could not be undone.

But Scorpius swallowed his point as the gracious sun rose higher in the sky. Soon they would have to make the trip to the Hogwarts Express to once again embrace summer, their parents, and that "real world" their professors were always yammering about. Soon perfect, simple moments like this would be hard if not impossible to come by.

He expected the worst and it terrified him. It shook him deeper then when he almost died. It stuck with him as much as when he wish he had. But he would not let it show. Not to her. Not when this could possibly be the last time he got to enjoy her.

"You're right. I'm sure they will," he smiled, throwing in a convincingly sarcastic "eventually" so as not to rouse suspicion. Usually instant in recognizing when he was holding back, Rose accepted the statement and beamed happily in victory.

"You have enough to eat?" she asked, eyeing his plate eagerly.

"I don't understand how you expect me to eat all of this," he replied, staring at his plate piled high with egg whites, whole grain toast and fruit.

"I just want to make sure you get your appetite back!" she exclaimed, though she did smile sheepishly just the same. "I want you to be healthy."

"I'm Qudditch-fit!" he answered back. _That is if they'll ever let me back on the team…_

"I know! But I want you to…stay that way." Rose spoke those last three words hesitantly, knowing they opened the door to treacherous grounds.

"Rosie, you don't have to worry," he exclaimed softly, grabbing her hand in his and rubbing his thumbs across her knuckles. "I'm okay, honest, and I'm not going to do anything stupid…"

"I know, I know," she replied, though even more worry had seemed to slip into her voice. "It's just its more dangerous for you now than ever if you go back and…"

"Rose, believe me, I know," he urged, allowing an ounce of his own weighted fear to slip through to ensure her he was very aware of the life threatening damage that lay ahead of him if he chose to once again wander down that dark path.

"But honestly I'm not worried. Between you and my mother I have more than enough noses in my business."

Scorpius could tell she wanted to say more, but like he she seemed to swallow her usually uncensored words for prosperity.

"It's starting to get late," she stated, a trace of sadness in her voice. "We should probably head back to the castle…"

She started to rise up but was impeded by Scorpius' hand quickly grabbing her arm. She turned to face him quizzically, frowning in confused protest.

"You didn't honestly think you'd get away that easy, did you?" he growled, smoothly gliding on top of her as he slowly kissed her neck.

"Scorpius!" she protested, with far too much of a happy giggle for him to even consider stopping, "We can't do this now! We'll be late!"

"No we won't," he stated simply, burying himself in her sweet smelling hair as he continued to kiss her. "It can wait."

"No it can't! Trains have schedules they work to adhere to. The whole reason standard time was even created was because of trains…oh."

Oh. That simple, perfect little sound that started a chain reaction leading to her body melting into relaxation, her hazel eyes to close, and her lips to part and easily and so eagerly synch with his was what it was all about. That little moan shut out the rest of the world so there was only them and there was only this.

It changed everything. It turned he, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy: Slytherin Seeker, Master of Beasts and Plants, three time Fantasy Qudditch Champion, match-maker, Local God…descendent of the despicable, manipulator of the innocent…liar…drug addict…

…well, it made him none of those. It made him everything and one thing only.

Hers.

And that made what was about to come not only tolerable, but bloody well worth it all.


	2. Through The Pensieve Looking Glass

Through The Pensieve Looking Glass

As the door to his daughter's room slammed viciously, her hurt and anger manifesting into the preceding rattling of the surrounding walls, Ron Weasley couldn't help but feel like he had hit rock bottom. There had been only one other time in his life that he had felt so low, so scummy, and that had been the moment after he had left his best friends on the search for the Horcruxes, when Hermione's pleas of reason were still fresh in his ears.

But that had been a rash decision made by a teenager in a high risk, high stress situation. His family was in danger and he wanted so badly to be with them. This though? This situation he knew he was in the right. He was doing what was best for his little girl. And if that meant having a blow up row, forbidding his Rose from seeing that despicable boy…which in turn caused her to glare at him with eyes full of hate…then so be it. He'd feel like shite for the rest of his life if it meant keeping her from harm.

He looked over to his wife, who held the same look of worried concern mixed with stern determination that he felt inside. Neither of them were used to fighting with their children like this. Rose was too level headed and too concerned with school to get in to trouble, and despite the stupid things Hugo said and did he really was one of the sweetest boys you could ever meet. Harry had his hands full with three children with the same knack for trouble that was dominant in his blood line, Bill had one of the most dramatic daughters one could imagine, and Percy seemed at a loss of what to do with his youngest who maintained her goal in life was to start a rock band. Hermione and Ron always secretly gloated that when it came down to it, they really procreated the best batch out of all the Weasleys.

It was not like his Rosie to be as brash or foolish as to proclaim she was in love with a Malfoy. How could she be? After all his family had done to theirs? After they had tortured her mother, were set on eradicating her Muggle relatives, and were content to have her whole family locked up and killed on the bases of being decent human beings?

There was no possible way his daughter would sanely do such a thing. If that manipulative son of a bastard had hoodwinked her into thinking so, he would lock her up until her brainwashing had been undone. Not to mention what he would do to the young Malfoy if he ever got his hands on him…

"You don't think were too harsh, do you?" Hermione asked, finally breaking the tense silence of the house.

"No," he replied, too quickly to have given the question any thought. "We're protecting her. Don't worry, she'll come around. I mean who honestly falls in love at sixteen anyways?"

Hermione watched her husband pace around the living room as he muttered reassurances. She decided to refrain from pointing out that they were in love with each other at sixteen, knowing this was one of the times he didn't need to be corrected.

It did however scare the wits out of her.

A week passed and still Rose refused to talk to them. She and Ron had tried everything to just get her out of her room. They yelled, they cried. They bargained and threatened. Ron proclaimed he would blow her door down until Hugo pointed out that just because she could see them didn't mean she had to talk to them. Hugo also stated it was best to leave her alone so she didn't run away. These wise statements caused Ron to cease his threats. Hugo had always been fairly oblivious, and it wouldn't be a stretch to call him goofy or a bit simple either. But his observations struck a sharp cord, and they decided to heed his advice.

So now all Hermione could do was stare at her daughter's door as she passed it in the corridor, and hand Hugo her meals to serve as he was the only one she was answer to.

Hermione had been so excited to have her children home for the summer holidays, but now she walked around in a deep seated depression. Unlike her husband, she was not opposed to her daughter's choice in boyfriend simply because of his family. During their fight Rose had argued that plenty of people had turned out better than their family, and quoted names like Sirius and Teddy's grandmother Andromeda to prove her point. Though Hermione hated the Malfoy family, she could not judge the boy based on that fact alone.

She had heard a few things about Scorpius, however. And what she had collected was that he was a liar and a cheat. Neville had caught him stealing from the greenhouses and sneaking off into the Room of Requirement with different girls. He associated with a crowd of Neo-Death Eaters that terrorized Muggle-Borns, vandalized the school with Dark Mark graffiti, and pushed hateful propaganda.

He was also a confessed user of Zulco, an extremely dangerous and addictive drug that could cause a person to act out in severe and desperate violence.

So Hermione had no qualms with her harsh stance on barring her daughter from dating that boy. What she could not fathom is why her intelligent Rose with a superb judge of character would even associate with such a person, let alone fight so hard to date one.

Ron was convinced Scorpius had hexed or drugged her with a potion to cause such a reaction. It was well known he was excellent in potions and Herbology; even Neville agreed to that. It could very well be possible…

But she had made a career in Magical Law Enforcement, and her husband and Harry as Aurours, and she had learned a thing or two about how to detect when someone was acting on their own volition or when they were being forced. Some of the best had cracked under their interrogation. Besides, Hermione knew her daughter. Despite her extremely unusual behavior, Hermione was certain Rose was convinced of her own feelings.

Another oddity of the whole affair was Hugo. Rose and her brother were two years apart, and they were as close a brother and sister of that age difference should be. They fought each other and for each other, made fun and had fun. Hermione would think Hugo would have some grand reaction to what was happening and jump towards saving his sister.

But he had been quiet and reserved since the row; two adjectives that were usually more than just a stretch in describing her beloved son. He did not fight or yell at anyone, but Hermione did get the sense of…disappointment in his parents? Somehow overnight her uncomplicated and up front son seemed to be withholding deep emotions, but instead of blurting them out he simply spent most of his days at the kitchen table tending to his sketches and his comic book creations, always in his parents' sight yet still almost as unreachable as his sister.

Hermione could hardly stand it, and even the welcomed company of Harry and Ginny could do nothing to placate her.

"Still nothing?" Ginny finally asked after the small talk had been exhausted. The four of them sat in the living room, and though the rest of the house was silent it was clear that all ears were strained for any kind of external sound.

"She still refuses to talk to us," Hermione sighed, knowing Ron did not want to be the one to answer. "We've tried everything but she won't come out of her room. Even…even Hugo has been distant."

This last admittance cause a spark between Harry and Ginny, and the two immediately gave each other concerned looks.

"What's the matter?" Hermione inquired.

"Albus and Lily… well they've been distant as well," Ginny replied sadly.

"And the Tornadoes have their off week and James was supposed to visit, but he keeps putting us off," Harry added.

"Have they said anything?"

"No," Ginny expressed exasperatedly. "But everything was fine when we picked them up off the train. It all started…"

"A week ago?" Ron inquired in a spat.

"Well…yes," Ginny answered her brother woefully.

"You think this is all because of Rose and Scorpius?" Hermione conjectured in horrified amazement.

"Well they've lost their bloody minds, haven't they?" Ron demanded, standing up and continuing his pacing rant. "How on earth could any of them be okay with that wretched worthless arse?"

"Because we know him."

The four adults whipped around quickly, unaware that someone else was in the room with them. As a matter of fact there were five other some ones: Albus, Lily, Hugo, James, and Percy's youngest daughter Lucy, who held a basin in her hand.

"What are you all doing here?" Hermione asked in startle.

"We're here because we think you're all being unfair," Albus promoted, standing firmly. "You're not giving Scorpius a chance because you hate his father."

"And for good bloody reason too!" Ron yelled, the sight of his nieces, nephews and son confronting him prompting his rage.

"Ronald!"

"We're not saying you don't have good reasons," Lily soothed, stepping in peacefully, "but you don't know him. Scorp is actually a really good guy."

"One of the best actually," Albus injected fiercely, acting as though an attack on Scorpius were an attack on himself.

"Look, I didn't like the blighter at first either," James admitted, sweeping his fly-away hair back from his brown eyes, "but he's not like you'd think he'd be."

"Well, he's not _exactly_ like you'd think he'd be," Lucy corrected off-handedly. Her cousins all shot her hard looks, causing her hoop pierced nose to twitch in sorrow.

"Look, its sweet that you all have come here to help, but you don't understand," Hermione countered sympathetically. "This isn't just about us not liking the Malfoys…"

"Even though they are a bunch of sodding gits," Ron muttered loudly.

"…but he's dangerous. I won't have any of you associating with him!"

"Nor will we," Ginny added, her eyes darting towards her three children.

"I know you may think we're being unreasonable," Harry chimed in, "but there is a lot you don't understand. You weren't there…"

"You weren't there!" Albus replied in a near shout. Harry was visibly taken aback by his son's outburst, as Albus was normally the most laid-back of the bunch.

"We're done discussing this," Ron stated. "None of you are to have anything to do with that boy. Is that clear?"

"Fine," Lily said coolly, stepping out from the group before they all could react. "We figured discussion wouldn't get us anywhere. That's why we brought this."

Lily grabbed the basin out of Lucy's hand and presented it to her elders with a sad smile.

"Is that my Pensieve?" Harry asked in shock, jumping off the couch to take a closer look.

"You stole from our office?" Ron demanded, looking at the children in surprise.

"You can hardly consider it nicking when the secretary lets you in and then gives you candy after," Hugo countered, popping an Ever Flavor Bean into his mouth. His face immediately twisted into a look of putrid disgust and he caused a scene as he coughed and gagged.

"Ugh, carrots!" he spewed as he finally gained some composer.

"Look, we understand how you feel," Lily continued, ignoring her cousin's antics. "But there is a lot that you don't know. Scorpius and Rose have always had a connection and he's always done right by her."

"And by all of us," Albus added swiftly. "He's my best mate. He screws up on occasion, sure, but he always comes around."

"And he's done a lot for a lot of people," Lucy stepped in, pushing her red and purple streaked hair behind her ears. "He's saved them, inspired them."

"But we know that's hard to believe," James continued, "so we came up with a way to prove to you what we mean."

"This holds Vivid Memories from all of us, plus some from Fred and Teddy, even Hagrid," Lily explained, placing the basin on the table. "They're all of Scorpius and the instances where we've gotten to know and love him."

"He really has done a whole lot for us," Albus pressed, almost pleadingly. "He's made me stronger, more confident."

"He made me like the way I'm built," Lily added, her willowy frame dropping its practiced slouch so she stood her full six feet tall.

"He's a good brother," James stated.

"He saved my lead guitarist," Lucy pressed, "Merlin knows how many others."

"He taught me how to dance so it doesn't look like I'm on fire," Hugo piped.

"Oh…and loads of other stuff," he added, when once again the cousins gave him helpless looks. "It's all in there."

"I'm sorry you lot went through so much trouble," Ron said firmly, looking harshly at his kin. "But our answer remains the same, even if he has won you over. We're not wasting our time with this."

"And why not?" a voice from the stairs demanded sharply. All heads turned around to see Rose descend to the living room, her face set and her hazel eyes glued to her father.

"Rosie," Hermione moaned, finally getting to see her daughter.

"How can you be so set against me that you won't even entertain the idea of trying to see what I see? What we all see?" Rose inquired harshly.

"We're not…we're not against you, dear," Ron replied, swallowing his anger for a softer tone.

"Yes you are. This is my choice. I decided I wanted to be with him, even though I knew a lot of people wouldn't like it. What I didn't expect was for my parents to practically disown me for it," she continued.

"Rosie, don't be ridiculous," Hermione laughed nervously. "We'd never…"

"Then what is going to happen?" Rose demanded. "Either way one party is going to be miserable and resentful. Then no one really gets what they want."

"Rosebud," Ron cajoled, "I know you think you love him, but in time you'll see were doing what's best for you."

"I can't believe this!" she exclaimed. "He said you would all react like this and I told him he was mental!"

"Rose Ginnevera, you cannot date him!" Ron yelled, exploding at being told that that boy knew anything about their family. Instead of yelling back Rose simply sighed desperately and walked down to her cousins. She stared at the basin in Lily's hand, contemplating the gold memories that swirled in front of her.

"I do not want to fight with you," she stated sadly. "But I can't just let you do this to me when you don't understand…"

She walked over to Lucy and nodded. A week short of being seventeen, she closed her eyes as her older cousin pointed her wand to her temple and pulled the stream of memories out of her head. After a few moments the Pensieve settled after collecting the last of her recollections.

"Please, just give him a chance," she pleaded, taking the basin and laying in on the table. And then her face strengthened up, and Hermione could not help but notice the instant transformation from distressed teenager to determined young woman that took place in her daughter's eyes.

"What do you have to lose from doing this?" Rose asked as she raised her head slowly. "And what might be lost if you don't?"

She gave her parents a weak smile before turning back to the stairs. Her mother and father both wanted to call her back down, but their demands caught in their throats from the intensity of the moment.

"We'll leave you to it then," Lily stated to the adults, nodding her head and turning towards the door. The rest of her generation followed her solemnly, catching the queue that they had done all they could do. It took a moment of the sudden silence for the remaining party to realize, not only what had been requested of them, but that there was one too few in the house.

"Hugo!" Ron and Hermione both called, closing their eyes in exasperation.

"Right!" Hugo proclaimed, opening the door and walking back inside. "I live here. I'm just…er…going to go to my room."

Ron watched his son run up the stairs. He couldn't help but think of how funny that would have been had the circumstance been different. But, things being as they were, Ron simply turned to stare at the grey basin overflowing with gold looking smoke.

"They all used Vivid Memories," Hermione stated quietly, noting the gold coloring rather than the usual silver. Vivid Memories were a fairly new form of Pensieve viewing, one discovered and used during the Ministry Hearings following the fall of Voldermort. It allowed one to view a persons' memories not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. The user literally saw the memories as if they were the person who originally experienced. It was a highly intimate and invasive form of questioning. Legally it was only allowed to be used in the defense of someone on trial who willingly gave them up. It was used to show exactly what happened when many were accused of war crimes they did not intentionally commit. It saved innocent lives like Stan Shunpike, who had been placed under the Imperius Curse for years. It set just sentences for those who caved into Voldermort but did so to protect their families.

"I never liked using these," Harry stated carefully. "It is very accurate but very draining on the user."

"But it has saved a lot of lives," Ginny replied in defense as she eyed the gold smoke.

"You're not actually considering this, are you?" Ron demanded, sneering at the basin. Harry and Ginny exchanged glances once again.

"I don't think it's up to us," Ginny answered delicately. "This is about your child…"

"No," Hermione interrupted. "This is about all of our children. Our whole family. They all seemed so certain we were wrong about him…how could we not do it?"

"This is madness!" Ron cried. "How can you agree to take the defense of that boy!"

"This isn't about Scorpius," Hermione soothed, grabbing her husband's hand. "This is about Rose, and Hugo, and all of our nieces and nephews. We raised them to be tolerant. We raised them to have convictions and to back up what they say. How can we turn them down when they're doing just that?"

"Because I…because…I…." Ron trailed off miserably before taking his seat next to his wife.

"I know you love Rose and you want to protect her. I have no idea what we're about to see or how it will make me feel. But I know we'd both do anything for our children. If she feels so strongly we really should at least try to understand."

"I really hate this," Ron moaned. "I really do. But you're right…as usual…"

"So we're doing this?" Hermione asked slowly.

"All of us," Ron replied, looking over to Ginny and Harry. "For our kids."

"For our kids," they both replied, nodding curtly.

Silence filled the Weasley sitting room once more as they all stared woefully at the tiny yet daunting basin in front of them. It seemed a dreadful thing to behold, yet despite his misery Ron couldn't help but feel curious. He had a feeling this emotion was shared. It was a rare experience to get to see the world from their children's eyes.

"So I guess we should…" Harry offered, breaking the silent enchantment.

"Right," the rest replied, all four of them straightening out as they leaned in close to the basin. They all exchanged one last look before taking the sudden plunge…

For a moment Ron felt as though he were falling through the air. His stomach contracted as though he had been punched. Suddenly he felt his feet hit the ground, but instead of feeling the impact of the stone reverberate throughout his body, he felt everything. Every emotion he had ever and never had filled him and spun around his head like a rouge firework. He felt the urge to cry, laugh, yell, wail, everything and anything until suddenly the world and his head stopped spinning.

When he finally could look forward he found himself in a very familiar place feeling a very familiar feeling.

Hunger.

Not the numbing perpetual hunger like he had felt when camping out for Horcruxes, but the simple, sleepy hunger felt by that of an elven year old boy who very much did not want to be out of bed and who could not focus on the excited chattering of the bushy haired girl next to him before he had finished his eggs…


	3. The Fantasy Friendship Lineup

(A/N: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews so far! I am really excited about this story and hope you like my next installment. Those of you who have read my stories before know that while I am a steady updater I usually go a month or so between chapters. I am hoping this story will be different as I don't think the chapters will be as long (even though this chapter is pretty lengthy) so hopefully I can push them out quicker. Thanks again for reading and reviewing!)

The Fantasy Friendship Lineup

_Harry felt as though his stomach had been thrown through a loop after falling through the Vivid Pensieve. Instantaneously experiencing all those emotions always made him a bit nauseous in his investigations, and it was one of his hesitancies in agreeing to this little venture. However he at least had known what to expect. He wanted to kick himself for not prepping Ginny and Hermione at what would happen when the Memories started taking their full effect. He whipped around to find his wife and sister-in-law, hoping to have time to explain, when suddenly he could no longer focus on his own thoughts._

_Suddenly it was though he had grown a second pair of eyes, transmitting visions from a satellite location and processed by a recently opened and slightly disconnected section of his brain. He could still see through his own eyes, could feel the shaking of his hands and the draining sensation of his stomach. He could see his wife and Ron and Hermione surrounding him, grabbing their own heads as though they were infested with nargles. He could see and hear the scenery around them. They were in the Great Hall, surrounded by hundreds of young Hogwarts students. He knew no one could see him or sense his presence; that he could walk freely among the tables as long as he stayed within range of the memory. In this regard it was like the usual Pensieve. _

_But there was more. Harry could also see the very spot where he and his friends stood, only slightly blurry and without the presence of four fully grown witches and wizards. Harry could feel the distant hunger and happy exhaustion of who's ever memory they were viewing. Though at present the mind they were connected to was not particularly active, Harry knew that soon he too would feel the thoughts, feelings and perceptions as though they were his own._

"_This is incredible!" Hermione gasped as she walked closely to the group. "It's outer dimensional! I can't believe our minds can handle this!"_

"_They barely can," Ron warned, rubbing his head. "The trick is not to think about yourself so much. It's best if you surrender to their memory."_

"_It's Albus!" Ginny said suddenly, pointing to the table in front of them in excitement. Harry turned quickly. She was right. Albus sat not ten feet in front of them, staring dreamily out into space (their space to be specific), while lazily running his fork across his pile of bacon and eggs. Yet it was not the Albus from minutes ago who so strongly demanded his parents allow Scorpius Malfoy into their lives, but a much younger, smaller Albus who sat with a good-natured sleepy smile and a quiet demeanor. _

"_I could hardly find him in here with all this madness!" Ron proclaimed, looking around him. "What happened to the four tables?"_

_A fair question, Harry thought. He had been so preoccupied with his bearings he hadn't paid attention to what he was actually seeing. No longer were there four long House tables, but dozens upon dozens of smaller round ones, dotting the Great Hall like some sort of café._

"_They only bring those out now during Sorting and special occasions," Hermione answered. "Usually they now sit at tables like these. It was one of the measures taken to counter-act House only loyalties. This way the students from different Houses can all sit together if they like."_

_Harry wondered if this was a bit reaching. He had heard there had been some reforms at Hogwarts to bring about more unity in the school. It was a nice idea in theory, but some of it sounded rather ridiculous. He imagined it was also a pain on the House-Elves as well._

_He was about to turn to see how Ron felt about the whole thing, when he suddenly realized someone was talking in his ear. No wait, not his ear…Albus' ear…_

_Ginny and Hermione were already staring at the table in a trance like state, honed in on just what Albus was experiencing. Harry shook his head, remembering the reason why he was there, and used all of his concentration to focus on his son…_

Albus knew Rose was talking to him. Rose usually talked. And Albus usually liked it. Rose was more than just his cousin, she was his best friend. They differed on their interest sometimes, sure. She was way too into school and grades and books and learning. Albus liked those things too, just not all the time. Especially not when he had just gotten out of bed, late as usual, on the first day back from the Christmas holidays. It had been so wonderful being home, and while he was glad to be back at Hogwarts he wasn't quite as willing to embrace the academic aspect of school until he had fully waken up.

"I'm so excited to be back!" Rose proclaimed between rushed bites of porridge. "I can't wait to start back on our Transfiguration projects. We finally get to start practicing on live animals! I was so tired of using matches, though it was rather amazing, if not slightly annoying ,watching Samantha Finnegan set her desk on fire _every_ time. Oh, and remember what Uncle Neville told us over the holidays? He said we might get to start work on Greenhouse Three soon!"

"Mmmmhmmm," Albus grunted, staring at his piece of bacon with a puffed eye before slowly chewing on it.

"Merlin, Albus, I forget you really aren't a morning person," Rose proclaimed with a bit of worry. "You look like Uncle Percy the morning after he drank all of Uncle George's eggnog at Christmas."

"Cheers," Albus replied slowly, running his hands through his bed-ridden dark hair as he stretched.

"You really should get a better morning routine," she tutted softly. "Or at least go to bed earlier so you can get more sleep. Honestly, I don't know how you can stand to be so disoriented every breakfast!"

"Stand?" he repeated through a lion's yawn, the concept of doing such a thing when he needn't so utterly nonsensical he thought about repeating himself. Then he thought about pancakes. Then about the girl with the blonde hair in his Charms class. Then he returned to thinking about nothing at all.

"You're hopeless, Alb," Rose grinned endearingly. "At least we have you out of bed, which is more than I can say for our first day of…"

"Shh!" Albus insisted, his head suddenly cocking upwards in such a state of severe alertness Rose nearly dropped her spoon.

"What is it?" Rose inquired nervously, her hazel eyes growing wide. _Harry shared the same worry as his niece, yet a part of him was alertly keen on the subtle whooshing sound that seemed to be coming from the rafters. _

"It's the post!" Albus decreed in excitement, popping his head up to the ceiling.

"The owls? But how could you…"

Rose's inquest was suddenly drowned out as the downpour of owls of every size and color came shooting into the hall.

"Where is it?" Albus asked to no one, looking up at the mess of feathers and parchment keenly.

"Where's what…"

"THERE!" Albus all but shouted in pure excitement. In a split second he jumped out of his seat and shot his hand upwards, grasping a periodical that was being whisked away down further into the Great Hall. Caught off guard, the owl let go of its delivery and tumbled slightly in the air. The Great Grey however quickly found its wings and turned on Albus with a mighty screech.

"Potter!" Albus proclaimed happily, showing the owl that the magazine had indeed reached its proper destination. For further persuasion, Albus flicked a ferret treat out of his pocket and into the bird's beak.

Slightly subdued but still rather peeved, the Great Grey let out an annoyed hoot before flying indignantly out of the castle.

"What was that all about?" Rose demanded, staring at her cousin incredulously.

"The new copy of _Fantasy Quidditch Weekly _is out," he said calmly, showing her the cover before peeling through the slightly torn pages.

"How did you…why…?" Rose stuttered in complete shock.

"I play against James this week in our Fantasy Quidditch league and I knew if I didn't get this now I'd never see it," he explained. "For some reason our parents, in their ultimate wisdom, put James' name on the subscription so the owl always goes to him. Last time he charmed the stats column and tricked me into trading my better Keeper."

"I don't care about your Fantasy league!" she exclaimed. "How on earth were you able to see the magazine out of that mess?"

"Easy," he shrugged good-naturedly, flipping back to the cover and pointing to the title. The "Q" was shaped and colored to resemble a Snitch, the small metallic wings fluttering like a humming bird.

"That's brilliant!" Rose exclaimed, looking at her cousin in admiration. _Harry could not help but swell with pride at this scene, and part of him wondered if the beginning of the memory was more for him to see then a persuasion to accept a still absent Malfoy. Seeing as how the tables were so scattered and so many students walked about freely it would be quite a task to search Scorpius out._

_Harry did not know about the others but he was quite content to stand here and watch his son. He hadn't realized just how grown his youngest son had become compare to the small First Year in front of him. In another year Albus wouldn't be in school at all. It was nice to see him small again, even if his head ached like it did._

"I'm just glad I got to it," Albus replied modestly. "We have a side bet going and if I lose I have to hand-wash and treat his Quidditch robes for a year and they _stink_."

"How is it that you can go from completely comatose to hearing the owls before anyone else and snatching your magazine out of the air like that?" Rose teased as she ate the last of her porridge.

"Some people have showers to wake them up, others have coffee," he grinned. "I have Quidditch."

"Correction," she replied, snagging his magazine and placing it in his bag. "You have Herbology."

* * *

><p><em>And just like that the memory changed, wiping itself away cleanly in a cloud of gold smoke and transitioning to the next scene. Harry found himself and the others on the grounds of Hogwarts, making their way towards the greenhouses. Now that they were outside breathing in the crisp winter air and feeling the comfort of the sun on their faces Harry noticed that he was no longer groggy but good-naturedly comfortable. Albus was always happier when he was outside, and Harry could feel just how true this was with how at home he felt.<em>

_Harry smiled again, happy to see that despite the anxiousness his son occasionally felt he had quickly become comfortable with the school. His smile continued when they reached the mass of students congregated outside, even though half of them wore the signature green, silver and bored haughty looks of Slytherins._

"Greenhouse Three today!" Uncle Neville…Professor Longbottom announced with a smile, ushering the students down to their new classroom.

"See Alb, what did I tell you?" Rose asked in excitement, grabbing his hand and pulling him in the right direction. Albus couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm and he allowed her to tote him to her choice in table.

"Take a seat but do not unpack your things!" Professor Longbottom instructed, casting his eye over to their small table where Rose was already pulling out her books. Rose replied with a quizzical glance before sliding her bag to the ground.

"Welcome, students, to Greenhouse Three," Neville greeted, smiling at the students knowingly. In the air there was a shimmer of disappointment among the First Years who after scrambling to get the right seat with the right people started looking around them.

"Professor?" a Slytherin girl with tan skin and impossibly blue eyes all but snapped. "Where are all the plants?"

"An excellent question, Miss Lynch," Professor Longbottom replied pleasantly, ignoring the demand in the young girl's inquiry. "As you can see Greenhouse Three, which usually holds the more dangerous species of plants, has been vacated. One of our fifth years left his Screechsnap unattended for too long and in an act of rebellion the plant released its spores with the intent to kill everything in order to receive more attention. We were able to save most of the plants by relocating them and the threat has been nullified. The fifth-year has been given detention and the Screechsnap has been sent off to London for therapy with the hopes that it will learn to love itself."

A Muggleborn Gryffindor by the name of Clair giggled at that last statement, but quickly cleared her throat when she realized she was the only one who found such an idea absurd.

"So what are we doing here then?" a black Slytherin girl named Bryony demanded.

"We are here," Neville answered patiently, "to help fix up the greenhouse by creating one of its most important enchantments. Look up at the ceiling. Though it is bare now it usually is covered with dozens of umbrella-sized flowers. These flowers are placed here because they act as a magical barrier keeping all hazardous magic and fungus from coming in or out of the greenhouse. They are what saved the other greenhouses from becoming infected from the spores. They are also quite appealing and help cover up the odor of dragon dung. Until these flowers have been grown and replanted on to the walls and ceilings we cannot use this greenhouse for its usual intent. Therefore I have decided to give you First Years the task of growing these flowers. You will be placed into groups of three and assigned a table together. You will spend the next few classes preparing and planting your chosen flower. The rest of the year you will spend the first twenty minutes of class pruning, caring for and documenting the state of your project before returning to your table for further lessons. You will be graded on the fullness, effectiveness and over all beauty of your flower. One hundred House points will be awarded to each student of the group with the best flower."

"So were going to spend all year growing a stupid flower? What a waste of time," muttered the blue eyed Slytherin girl who had spoken up earlier.

"Do you not listen?" Rose hissed fiercely, turning on the girl with narrowed eyes. The girl scoffed at Rose and cocked an eyebrow indignantly.

"Speaking of stupid flowers," she retorted, causing her surrounding Slytherin brethren to laugh. All, Albus noted, except for one blonde boy in the back. He shot an annoyed look at the two trouble making girls at the table next to him before his face returned to its default setting of boredom.

"Just ignore them, Rosie," Albus suggested quietly. "You're just giving them what they want if they see they got a rise out of you."

"Ugh, I hate Slytherins," she spat. "They're the same in every class."

Albus nodded in placation, despite not harboring the same sentiment. He then turned his attention back to Uncle…Professor Longbottom, who had gone from explaining the project to setting up how the groups of three would be chosen. In his hand he held a bag filled with the garden tools they needed for their project. There were three tools of the same color, with enough colors to properly divide up the class. Those who picked the same colors were to sit together, both for the project and the remainder of the term.

Rose and Albus cast nervous glances at each other. They had always paired up with one another. Despite the Professor's explanation that it was for the intention that they get to know other students in their year, Albus couldn't help but feel wary.

That was until they both pulled out a tool with a crimson handle.

"Well what are the odds of that?" Neville smiled at the beaming pair before starting over to the table filled with Slytherin girls.

"What a relief," Albus sighed, having feared he were to be paired up (and therefore torn apart) by the two girls behind him. "You think Uncle Neville set that up on purpose?"

"I doubt it," Rose groaned irately, her ears suddenly growing red. Albus watched his cousin's face twitch in irritation before he followed her gaze. Two tables back he noticed the blonde boy still sitting at his vacated table, glowering at the crimson spade he held in his hand.

"I can't believe this!" she hissed to Albus. "Out of everyone in this class we get stuck with _him_."

Albus didn't comment but instead watched as the blonde stuffed his book back in his bag and sauntered fitfully yet gracefully over to their table. Despite the Slytherin's clear distaste for his new partners, Albus couldn't help but notice how smoothly he moved…

"_Why is Albus thinking about how he walks?" Hermione asked nervously. "That's a little odd…"_

"_I think the word you're looking for is queer," Ron added, with only a hint of a joke._

"_It's a Quidditch thing," Ginny answered in an irritated snap. "Natural players notice things like body movement of an opponent instinctively."_

"_So he's thinking Scorpius might be a good player?" Hermione inquired._

"_Not necessarily. Krum was an excellent player but you ever watch him walk? Hardly graceful," Harry surmised. "It's just something Albus must do."_

… and was glad that if he had to have a Slytherin in his group it was the one who didn't laugh at his cousin.

The boy took his seat, his eyes focused hard on the table as he slowly unpacked his things. He moved, not nervously, but with caution, as though he had just stepped into a lion's den well-armed. There was a graceful confidence about him but his carefully planned movements highlighted his hesitance.

Rose on the other hand stared at him, fuming with anger despite him not having said an offensive word. Or any word for that matter.

"Hi, I'm Albus! Albus Potter," Albus greeted brightly, extending his hand for the newcomer to shake.

"He knows who we are, Albus," Rose spat. "Just like we know who _he_ is."

Albus frowned, finding his cousin's reaction to be uncharacteristically rude.

"Well, don't you have a mighty high opinion of yourself," Scorpius stated dryly. "I'm all for skipping the "getting to know you" portion of our rubric. No need to start what I'm sure will be a spectacular term with trivial lies. And you have maple syrup on your hand."

Rose's ears burned a brighter red as she continued to stew irately, her anger and dislike of her new partner apparently justified with the first four sentences he exchanged. Scorpius sighed, his back perfectly straight as he drummed his clean fingertips on the table. Albus spent a good half a minute trying to rub the syrup from his breakfast off his hand.

Silence.

Which was funny to Albus because he could swear other tables were talking, laughing, jousting with their tools and getting up to get more supplies. All that was being said at their table was Rose's face signaling a strong "I hate you", Scorpius' demeanor replying with a bored "I don't care", and Albus' eyes straining back and forth between them like the time he went with Rose and her other grandmother to that Muggle tennis game.

"So, erm, what flower do we want to grow?" Albus inquired brightly, trying to get some dialogue going that was actually helpful.

"Well," Rosie drew out happily to her cousin with a smile, "how about a…"

"Rose?" Scorpius scoffed. "Absolutely not."

"You pig!" Rose spat back at him. "What makes you think you can cut down my suggestion just because…."

"Do you have any idea how much water a rose requires? Especially an umbrella-sized one? They are the most stubborn of the _floribus magnis _variety to grow and they will also leech the hanging vines which will mount them to the ceiling of nutrients, slowly killing off the others unless the absolute right dosage is applied. In layman's terms roses are the weeds of the umbrella-sized flowers. Roses are also completely frivolous. You can't eat them nor are they any use in any viable potion I know of. What would be the point? Just because they're _pretty?"_

Rose opened her mouth, seemingly ready to launch off into a counter-argument, when she suddenly realized she didn't have one. She was used to being the most informed student in all her classes, as she had read both the textbooks and supplemental readings suggested for each course long before the lessons actually started. Albus wondered however if the properties of the umbrella-sized flowers were something usually taught in later years, which meant Neville had strayed from what Rosie thought would be the curriculum. Albus could sense her betrayal in the tenseness of her body and her embarrassment for not being as informed on a subject as she felt she needed to be.

Mostly however she just looked hacked off.

"How do you know all that?" she demanded shrilly, prodding his sources with the obvious hope that he simply made it all up.

"My mother," he replied with a lazy smirk, the boredom retreating from his face as he watched the girl in front of him get more flustered. "She's one of the greatest potion-masters in England, and she is so because she grows all of her ingredients in the greenhouses on our grounds, which also makes her one, if not the best, herbologists in England. But I thought this would be information you already had, seeing as how you already _know_ me."

Albus felt certain his cousin was about to exploded with offense. Indeed, her ears got even redder with frustration. Remarkably however his cousin remained in one piece. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a moment, and seemed to swallow all the negative feelings she had been emanating. The redness in her skin certainly went away anyhow.

"Then what kind of flower do you suggest?" she asked diplomatically, only placing the lightest of stresses on the pronoun.

"A daisy," he shrugged simply. "They're a much more stable flower, thrive well in many ecosystems, and you can chop up the roots to make a Shrinking Solution."

"A _daisy_?" It was apparently Rose's turn to laugh and scoff. "Could you pick a more boring flower to grow?"

Scorpius narrowed his eyes, seemingly unhappy at how the tables of mockery had turned.

"I mean sure a daisy would be _easy_ to grow, if all you're worried about is skating by on efficiency," she continued with her own air of disinterest. "I for one would actually like to win this thing. That is unless you're too cowardly to take up a real challenge."

Scorpius' face flickered in spasm upon the word cowardly. No longer did he peer at Rose with boredom or amusement, but with a contemptuous reserve upon being called out so personally.

"I'm not afraid of any challenge, especially not one brought on by a _Weasley_," he sneered.

"Great!" she replied victoriously. "Then a rose it…"

"No," interjected Scorpius swiftly. "I already told you I'm not doing a rose."

"How about a lily?" Albus suggested diplomatically. Rose and Scorpius both turned to look at him confoundedly, both seeming to have temporarily forgotten about their third partner during their row.

"A lily…?" Scorpius asked slowly as he mulled the idea over in his head.

"Sure," Albus stated with an easy manner. "I mean lilies are nice to look at. They won't take up as much water, and people eat the bulbs in Asia to cool their insides during the summer. I imagine a Cooling Draught could probably use them too."

"How do you know all that?" Scorpius asked in impressed amazement.

"My sister's a Lily," Albus proclaimed happily. "We once looked up all the weird things you can do with them."

"I think that's a wonderful idea, Albus!" Rose beamed, looking thoroughly soothed after her cousin stepped in.

"What do you think, Scorpius?" Albus asked politely. Scorpius popped an eyebrow at a male peer calling him by his first name. He seemed to shrug it off quickly and nodded in agreement.

"A lily it is."

* * *

><p>"<em>Well what did that show us?" Ron demanded as the gold smoke cleared just to reform now snowy greenhouses in front of them. "Asides from he was a git from the start?"<em>

"_I thought it was rather interesting," Hermione mused, though Harry couldn't help but notice her frown._

"_Interesting? Did you hear the way he talked to your daughter?" Ron demanded._

"_Did you hear the way your daughter talked to him?" Ginny laughed. "She was on him from the beginning!"_

_Harry said nothing, though he had a feeling he and Hermione shared similar thoughts. Rose was quick both in wits and in defending her family. She would forever be her father's daughter when it came to stubbornness and arguing just for arguing's sake, and Harry recalled that she was rather short on tact when she was eleven. While Harry held no blame that she initiated her guard the moment the Malfoy came around (in fact he rather expected it), he couldn't help but wonder how much of Scorpius' attitude was inherent, and how much was purely in self-defense…_

"You know, I used to love going to Herbology," Rose sighed as they walked up to Greenhouse Three.

"And I used to love to be outside," Albus shuddered, wrapping his scarf tighter around his neck as the chilling breeze blew sharply. "But you shouldn't let him get to you so much."

"I don't let him get to me!" she replied in quick defense. "I know exactly how to deal with a boy like that. He just needs to be shown we aren't interested in his haughty nonsense or his insults. It's just this class used to be fun and now it's just a battle with Malfoy."

"And see here I was thinking you rather enjoyed fighting with him," Albus mused with a grin. "It sure seems like you pick about half of them anyhow."

"I do not! He just…what is he doing!"

Albus dropped his bag on their table before bothering to look up. Scorpius had already arrived was tending to their recently sprouted lily with a pair of gardening sheers. Rose dashed over there in a frantic pace, snatching the scissors out of his hand before turning on him in a bicker. Albus merely shook his head with a laugh before pulling out his Fantasy Quidditch roster.

"Merlin, is she always this much of a control freak?" Scorpius muttered as he sat back down, shooting a hard look over at Rose trying to repair his "damage" with her wand.

"She just cares about her grade," Albus defended (sort of) as he continued to pour over his player options. "That and she trusts you about as far as she can throw a hippogriff."

"And I don't care about my grade?" he asked indignantly. "Do you have any idea what my mother would do to me if I didn't get top marks in this class?"

"No, but you might try telling Rose that. Maybe then she'd back off on trying to make sure everything is perfect and have a go at the plant with those scissors," Albus replied offhandedly.

Scorpius let out a smirk that boarded on a genuine smile at Albus' comment before he turned his attention to the pieces of parchment that lay on the table.

"What's all this then?" Scorpius inquired as he picked up one of the pages.

"I'm trying to set my Fantasy lineup for next week," Albus explained. "I play against my cousin Fred and so far no one has been able to beat him."

"You have quiet the impressive roster," Scorpius allotted as he poured over a list of Albus' players. "Do you have your cousin's choices as well?"

"Yeah," Albus replied, passing off the hand scrawled list. "I'm trying to decide what Seeker to play. Sproutleaf has been doing fairly well this season…"

"Yeah, but there's no way he beats Broussard of the Quafflepunchers when they play in Paris. She's caught the Snitch at every home game for the past two years," Scorpius explained. "You should play Castillo in the Portugal game at Gimbi."

"Against Dahnay of Ethiopia?" Albus inquired with mild shock. "Dahnay has been Fred's best player all season. He's on a hot streak!"

"Which is about to cool off, literally," Scorpius grinned in excitement. "He got his hand broke by a Bludger last year, and though it's healed it still aches whenever it gets cold. He'll be so preoccupied with the numbing pain he won't be able to focus on the Snitch."

"Yeah?" Albus inquired in wonder. "Wow, if I play Castillo and win that might put me into first place in the league…"

"Except for one problem," Rose replied as she finally returned. "They're playing in _Ethiopia_. It's practically on the equator! It doesn't get cold there!"

"Two words: freak ice storm," Scorpius replied, giving Rose a sidelong glance.

"Don't listen to him Albus, he's just putting you on," Rose pleaded. "And that's three words."

She accentuated her snap by loudly opening her book, signaling the end to their conversations about Quidditch.

* * *

><p>"Scorpius! Hey Scorpius!" Albus called as he finally spotted the blonde already seated at the table. Scorpius' small yet amused smile came in to sharper focus as the Gryffindor rushed towards him waving the morning's Daily Prophet in his hand.<p>

"I won my match up against Fred! Castillo dominated Dahnay!" Albus exclaimed as he finally reached the table.

"So I heard," Scorpius replied casually. "Last night when they broadcast the game on the Wireless."

Albus barely took the time to process that Scorpius bothered to listen to the obscure match against Spain and Ethiopia, especially when Ireland played Puddlemere…

"But it's not just that! I looked up the stats in this morning's Prophet to double check and I'm at the top of the league!" he exclaimed, showing Scorpius both the newspaper and his official League parchment that recently updated the scores of all those playing in his league.

"Congratulations," Scorpius said coolly, smiling slightly as his eyes flickered across the headline _Dahney's Hot Streak Cooled Down With Freak Icestorm_.

"I know, I can't believe they had a typo on a headline," Albus offered when he noticed Scorpius' grin.

"How did you know?" Rose demanded, slamming her book on the table and staring at Scorpius fiercely. "How on earth did you know there was going to be an ice storm during the game? Almost no one saw that coming."

"Malfoy's intuition," he replied snidely, though the smile remained on his face as Rose's ears grew red. This only seemed to infuriate her further. It however seemed like his cousin had nothing intelligent to say back, so she simply stewed quietly as she went to observe the status of their flower.

"It was my morning to document," Scorpius called after her as she continued her retreat. He then shook his head and pushed his tidy notes over to Albus.

"That really was some amazing insight," Albus replied as he sloppily copied his observations. "You ever thought about joining a league?"

"It's not something I've ever gotten around to doing," Scorpius replied with a puzzling hint of sadness.

Rose returned and all talk of Quidditch ceased. Albus could tell she was a little mad at him for taking such ridiculous advice from Scorpius, especially as it panned out for no logical reason. In turn Albus tried to win back her affections by being especially helpful in tending to the flitterbloom they were supposed to re-pot and nurse that day.

This, however, seemed to be a much more difficult thing to do then he expected. As usual Rose had herself surrounded with her textbook, supplemental readings and notes all open and pertaining to the care of the flitterbloom. Just as usual, Scorpius stated he knew better and more "professional" ways to care for the plant, even going as far as telling them how he helped his mother tend to their Devil's Snare.

"A flitterbloom, after all, is really only a boring, non-lethal version of a Snare," he explained drolly, casually rolling back his head as one of the plant's tentacles wriggled towards him.

"No one cares what your Mummy does," Rose muttered under her breath as she continued to follow the class's protocol. She and Scorpius had just finished a row over the re-potting, one which had to be settled by the Professor. Neville agreed with Scorpius that there was "more than one way to milk a Mimbulus Mimbletonia" however for now it would be best to follow the lesson plan. Albus also noticed the irritated looks Neville shot Scorpius when he thought no one was looking. Personally Albus didn't care which way they completed the lesson as long as they made a good grade.

"I really need to pull up my marks," Albus explained as he pushed the new pot closer to Rose. "Especially after what happened in Charms yesterday…"

"Yes, I heard about how you over shot your candle and set Flitwick's hair on fire," Scorpius replied with a grin as he lazily took notes on the process.

"You did?" Albus winced.

"Sure," Scorpius stated offhandedly. But then he released a friendly smile and whispered softly. "I hardly blame you. Rachael Davies' has been looking fit since she got that hair cut..."

"I know!" Albus agreed, once again thinking back to the blonde Ravenclaw who sat in front of him…

"Can we just focus please?" Rose demanded, finally grabbing the base of the plant in order to pull it out of the soil.

"You really should grab it a little higher up," Scorpius ordered. "It'll paralyze the tentacles…"

"Oh shut up!" Rose demanded as she yanked the plant up. In an instant the flitterbloom went mad, flinging its tentacles wildly after being so quickly uprooted. Rose's face looked completely panicked, though she remained calm enough to remember her instructions. She moved quickly in bringing the wriggling plant over to its new home, shoving it forcefully into the soil and keeping her grip on the base of it until it calmed down. All of it happened rather smoothly, and Rose turned to Scorpius as if to prove herself right. However before she could speak the plant lashed its longest tentacle out in a final fit of rage, swiping at its captors and soundings with a whip-like speed. Lucky the three of them were just out of the plant's proximity and therefore avoided a thrashing.

The same could not be said of the small pail of dragon's dung that sat on the edge of the table.

The tentacle connected with it violently, sending its contents spewing outward. Scorpius and Albus both managed to duck away quickly, but as Rose still kept her grip on the base of the plant she got a hearty spattering of it on her uniform.

A look of shock and disgust filled Rose's face and for a moment she stood paralyzed, still gripping the base of a now subdued flitterbloom.

"Are you… alright?" Albus asked, having to hold his breath to keep from laughing. Scorpius had apparently no qualms in letting his laughter ring out across the greenhouse which caused all those who hadn't already turned to look at the trio during the commotion to pause and see what the ruckus was.

"I told you to grip it higher!" Scorpius proclaimed. "It would have paralyzed…"

"And where do I grip to paralyze you?" Rose demanded. "You are just an unbelievably rude and tawdry person. Albus, you wonder why he's not in a Fantasy Quidditch league? It's because no one can stand to be around him!"

"Excuse me?" Scorpius inquired, the laughter dead in his voice as his blue-green eyes shaded darkly.

"Oh please! I've seen you in the corridors, at dinner, in the library! Always alone. It's no wonder you haven't got any friends. You're a brute!"

Scorpius just stared back, the color draining out of his pale face as his breathing grew deeper. Rose stood her ground, both figuratively and literally, though Albus could see her struggling to keep her air of righteousness. It was not until the signal for class to end that either of them moved. Scorpius simply grabbed all of his things off the table and strolled out of the classroom. Rose then turned and slammed shut her book, turning sternly to Albus as if then to tell him off.

"Damn!" she cursed, before snatching the flitterbloom off the table to turn it in.

* * *

><p><em>The four of them were silent as the scene changed once again, the familiar stone grounds of the outdoor corridor forming around them. Harry felt as though he could read a third persons thoughts as he and the rest of the group glanced over at Ron. He was struggling, apparently trying to feel as though his daughter's actions were justified. It was impossible however not to recall their own first year where Ron told Hermione nearly the exact same thing, which lead his future wife crying in the loo for half the evening.<em>

"_That was completely different, though," Ron muttered to no one. Harry sighed sadly before turning his face to see his son and niece walk towards them…_

"I don't think I'll ever get the hang of Potions," Albus confided to his cousin as they walked through the courtyard. "It's too much like baking where you have to follow everything _so_ exactly."

"You'll get the hang of it," Rose nudged helpfully. "I'll help you organize your ingredients next time so it's not so…"

Rose and Albus were both shocked out of their conversation as two enchanted snowballs hit them squarely in the chest. It did not take them long to see where they came from as the contact was immediately followed by howling cackles. The cousins turned to see Bryony and her twin brother doubled over in laughter, surrounded by other Slytherins in their year.

"Just let it go, Rosie," Albus muttered, though it didn't seem like it would take much to convince him to do otherwise. Rose however seemed fixated by the group.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Nadia Lynch suggested, flipping her fetching dark hair over her shoulders.

"What is _he_ doing over there?" Rose hissed in demand. It was then that Albus noticed Scorpius amongst the group, sneering unhappily while the others laughed. Rose quickly marched off in another direction. Albus slowly followed after he was unsuccessful at getting Scorpius to look him in the eye.

"I can't believe…this just…" Rose ranted when Albus finally caught up to her.

"You know, Scorpius probably has a pretty good reason for always sitting by himself," Albus suggested as he took another look at the still laughing group. Rose looked at him angrily. She could not hold such a gaze for long though, and worry soon dominated her hazel eyes.

"Scorpius Malfoy is a prat!" she announced boldly. "However, those other Slytherins… they're just terrible."

"Well what was he supposed to do?" Albus asked in his defense. "You made him out to be Billy-No-Mates in front of half of our Year."

"I know what I did!" she exclaimed brashly, though once again her prideful passion diminished into extinction within moments.

"I know…what I did…"

* * *

><p>Albus swayed back and forth on his chair, his exhaustion once again taking over his body. Rose had quickly proclaimed that morning that it was imperative that they make it to the greenhouse early and presented him with a napkin full of toast and bacon before whisking him off. Now stationary in his seat, Albus finally realized he was supposed to eat the food he held in his hand. It would take him another minute or so for such an epiphany to result in him bringing the food to his mouth. One step at a time, after all.<p>

_It was due to Albus' stupor that he remained quite unaware of his cousin's nervousness. Though he himself was afflicted with his son's grogginess, Harry was still able to see the hesitance in his niece's face as she kept turning towards the door. It suddenly set itself into stone the moment Scorpius walked in. He scowled at seeing his group already there as he was accustomed to being the first to arrive. Scorpius sulked over to the table and tossed his bag down onto the ground._

Silence.

Again.

Which really wasn't helping Albus wake up. He did recognize the importance of doing so now that Scorpius was here, but he couldn't quite make himself alert.

"I would like to apologize for what I said the other day," Rose stated primly.

Albus immediately sat up in wonder.

"Apologize for what?" Scorpius inquired with a harsh sneer.

"For what I said…about you not having friends…" she answered slowly.

"Why would you possibly think you would need to apologize?" he scoffed. "What makes you think anything you said would affect me in the slightest?"

"You know what, just forget it!" she exclaimed as her ears turned red. "I was right the first time, you're just rude!"

"Well that's the cauldron calling the kettle black," Scorpius spat.

"No! No…" Rose took a deep breath in order to reset her argument. "No. You can be rude…and maybe so can I…but that doesn't mean you have to start hanging out with those awful people just because of what I said."

"You really are completely full of yourself, aren't you?" Scorpius asked in disbelief. "You go and judge me before you even ever talk to me, and then go and insult my friends to try and justify yourself? You really are a horrid judge of character."

"I'm sorry, but I have yet to see any redeeming qualities in your _friends_, between the snarky comments and the enchanted snowballs!" Rose defended harshly.

"They only did that because you attacked one of us," he proclaimed.

"Look, I only lashed out at you because you were driving me mad and you embarrassed me by laughing!" she argued back.

"I wouldn't have had to laugh if you just listened to me! But what was I supposed to do? You had shite all over ..you."

Scorpius blurted out the last word, his laughter overpowering his anger as he reminisced. Albus too began to snigger, lightly at first but then more robustly as he fed off of Scorpius' mirth.

"It was not funny!" Rose pressed desperately. "I had to take three showers and I still smelled the next day…"

Both Scorpius and Albus howled at this statement, gasping for breath as they rolled on to the desk. Rose too couldn't help but grin in spite of herself, and she briefly joined in on the laughter.

"Look, I'm just sorry about the whole thing," Rose pressed again. Scorpius shrugged.

"You're going to do what you're going to do," he said simply. "But so am I."

Rose slumped, apparently feeling defeated in her futile apology. But then she looked up as if she had one more trick up her sleeve. She pushed her tools on the table over to Scorpius in a swift movement.

"Will you tend to the lily today? It's looking a bit faded," she asked politely. Scorpius finished his laughter and stared at her as though trying to decipher the new attack.

"And you want me to try and fix it?" he asked with an arched brow.

"Well, yes. You really are the best when it comes to such things," she allotted with a shrug. Scorpius stared at her a moment before shaking his head.

"You're a terrible flatterer as well," Scorpius mused as he got up. "But nice go anyhow, Weasley."

* * *

><p>"This is magnificent!" Professor Longbottom proclaimed upon examining their lily, which had surpassed umbrella-size and entered the circumference league of a kitchen table. "I believe it goes without saying that yours wins the grand prize. Two hundred points to Gryffindor and a hundred to Slytherin!"<p>

"We won!" Rose exclaimed happily as the Professor walked off, embracing Albus in a hug. She then turned to face Scorpius as if to give him one to, but immediately thought better of it.

"You know I almost came in here last night to cut it down when I realized Gryffindor and Slytherin were about 100 points apart in the running for the House Cup," Scorpius stated casually.

"What stopped you?" Albus inquired, recognizing the joke even if Rose did not.

"I wasn't about to sacrifice my grade just because the rest of my House can't perform," Scorpius answered quickly, sharing a smile with Albus.

"How noble," Rose replied with rolling eyes, walking off to go ask the Professor a question about her final. Albus once again couldn't help but notice the dark look Neville shot Scorpius before his eyes lit up upon Rose.

"Wow, Professor Longbottom doesn't seem to like you much, does he?" Albus asked with a frown.

"No one ever does," Scorpius said lightly. "Except you…you were always all right."

"You know, you put on this act like you're so aloof and you don't care about anything, but I always had a feeling like you were a lot nicer than you put on," Albus replied with a good-natured smile.

"That's interesting," Scorpius stated lazily. "I'm sure I can find a way to use that against you some day."

Albus laughed, keeping his smile as he enjoyed the summer air around them. It was finally back to the type of weather he preferred, his tests were all completed, and he had nothing but a great holiday before him. Yet somehow in that instant he was struck with something and despite feeling as though this should be a perfectly lovely moment he couldn't help but twinge with a sense of finality.

"So I guess this is it, huh?" Albus inquired as the silence started to grow around them in the greenhouse. "Now that our project is over and school's almost out."

"Don't get sentimental on me, Potter," Scorpius sneered. Yet the sneer quickly bloomed into a small smile, and his eyes soften as he formed another comment.

"I'm sure we'll run into each other within the next six years."

"I hope so!" Albus proclaimed. Scorpius simply shook his head, walking away and joining the other Slytherins at a table without a further good-bye. Albus flashed a weak smile before sitting down at his own table to wait for Rose.

It had been a good first year and he was glad to be going home, but a part of him felt a little sad. He had enjoyed Scorpius. He loved his cousin and got along great with his Housemates, but Scorpius had been the first friend he felt like he had made independently of his family. Or at least he felt like he and Scorpius were friends. He supposed he couldn't be quite sure. Could a Potter and a Malfoy be friends?

Albus frowned at the thought. He didn't like seeing things in those terms. Though Scorpius had brushed it off when he mentioned it, he had a feeling such a mindset had plagued the young Slytherin in his first year of school and perhaps even further back than that. Albus was used to being liked, and in turn he liked a lot of people. His brother often warned him to be cautious about being so quick to warm to people, but Albus didn't think he was properly understood. He just didn't think it was right to form opinions on someone that weren't his own, and figured it would be better to go into all new relationships cheerfully.

Scorpius Malfoy was not the best bloke around, but he was far from the worst. He was different from the other people he knew, both in and outside his family. He was a little dark, yet something about him made Albus believe he really was a good person.

He was dead useful when it came to Quidditch anyhow.

After a few more tautologies of thought Albus finally settled on the fact that he liked Scorpius and simply hoped they could continue to be mates next year.

With nothing further to think about and Rose still in a lively discussion with Professor Longbottom, Albus started digging through his bag with the hopes he had remembered to pack_ Quidditch Through The Ages _when he had gotten up. A futile quest as he hardly remembered to put on his trainers that morning, he almost resigned to just leaving without her when he noticed something new in his bag he hadn't seen before.

It was the latest copy of _Fantasy Quidditch Weekly_. In fact it was the issue that wasn't even supposed to be available for purchase for another three days…

Albus opened it happily and found a neatly scripted note inside.

_I figured you could use this ahead of time to keep your standing. Don't lose **our** ranking, and don't rely too heavily on Sproutleaf when he plays against Heidelberg. He's more interested in __schnitzel then the Snitch when he's in Germany. Have a good summer._

_-S.H. Malfoy _

Albus looked up excitedly over to the Slytherin table. Basileios Zabini caught his eye first, unfortunately, and he muttered something over to his twin sister who cackled like she had in the courtyard. She was instantly joined in her laughter by the other girls except for the one name Nadia, who simply rolled her eyes and returned to filing her nails. Scorpius glared at them before turning his gaze over to Albus. He nodded curtly over to him before leaving the table without a word.

Albus nodded as well. If forced to associate with such people he probably would have chosen to be alone just like Scorpius did. This thought made Albus sad again, until he remembered one thing:

Scorpius would have another friend next year.


	4. The Rouge Beater

(A/N: So this chapter, as usual, is running a bit long so I decided to break it in to two. This and the next are more Albus chapters, but Rose and the others are going to have their memories shown as well. I just have to set up the bromance first! Oh, and on a totally self-serving note my Dirty Little Secret story is up for an award on Live Journal. Best Smut story…my mother will be so proud. Anyhoo, if you read and liked it vote for me! Google HP FANFIC POLL AWARDS to find it. I tried posting the link but it wont let me. It is just( hpfanficfanpoll. livejournal. com ) all put together. Next chapter should be up soon!

The Rouge Beater

_"I still don't see the bloody point of all this," Ron proclaimed as he waved away the last of the golden smoke from his face. "I hardly see what's supposed to be so inspiring about him."_

_ "I'll admit he doesn't seem to be the nicest of boys…" Hermione began slowly._

_ "The nicest of boys? Merlin, Hermione!" her husband exclaimed. "He's a smug and arrogant little prat, just like his father!"_

_ "Those twins that kept showing up," Harry interrupted, his brow furrowed as he combed over the last scene. "Basileios and Bryony. They're Zabinis aren't they?"_

_ "Yes, and by the upturned pug nose of the girl I can imagine who their mother is," Hermione answered distastefully. _

_ "Hold on, aren't you trying to bring in Basileios for questioning?" Ron inquired, putting together the pieces his friend had laid out._

_ "Yes. We believe him to be the head of the neo Death-Eater gang that has sprung up in and out of Hogwarts," Harry informed. "So far it's been misdemeanors like vandalizing buildings with Dark Marks and bullying Muggle-borns…"_

_ "Why bullying is only considered a misdemeanor," Hermione bristled._

_ "But there seems to be the potential for more violence," Harry finished._

_ "Look at him, sitting over there and chatting it up with the Zabinis," Ron growled as he spotted Scorpius sitting amongst the other Slytherins in his year. "I bet he's best mates with the boy and slips it to the girl behind Rose's back every chance he gets!"_

_ Ginny said nothing as the three continued to speculate about the Zabinis. She cared nothing for the twin spawn of Blaise and Pansy. In all honesty she cared nothing for Scorpius. It was her children she worried for. When she heard that Rose had started dating the Malfoy her first selfish reaction was relief that it was not __**her**__ daughter who had tangled herself up in such a mess. She had gone over to her brother's to give support for their cause but had felt it best to let Ron and Hermione handle it their own way. _

_ But now things had changed. All three of her children had confessed friendship with the boy, with Albus being especially tied to him. She had felt Albus' worry and desire to be friends with him, choosing to overlook certain undesirable aspects with the hopes that he was a good person. She had always loved the kindness and generosity that made up so much of Albus' personality and she couldn't help but feel silently proud that as a First Year he wanted to reach out to a boy who he though had an unfair reputation._

_ However she was his mother and she knew enough of the things to come to wish she could step out of this Memory and scoop her son away from Scorpius. Four years from this point in the Pensieve Scorpius would be into drugs. Hard and incredibly addictive, Zulco use even for a brief time will impact a user for the rest of their life. It terrified her to think her precious son had been so close to someone who, sources say, had been so deep into an addiction he almost died from withdrawals. He would not have been first to do so…_

_ Pessimistic conventional wisdom states that it is easier for a bad person to bring a good person down to their level then the other way around. Ginny knew her good-hearted son all too well and could so easily see him getting trapped in such an ordeal…_

_ No. No, Albus would not be brought down to Scorpius' level. He was too bright, too caring, and too level- headed to get mixed into anything like that. Once more she desperately wanted to trust his judgment. If he had stuck with Scorpius after such a tribulation and proclaimed him to be fit for his favorite cousin there must be something worthwhile about the boy._

_ And that, she determined, was the bloody point of all this. Albus and the others were trying to show the good in their friend. Ron was clearly dead set against the ordeal from the start, Hermione seemed to think he had grown into some sort of criminal and Harry…_

_ Strangely enough she didn't know what her husband thought of the matter. He had always been quick to assume Draco Malfoy of wrong doing, yet at them same time he pitied him and his situation in school. Harry had put in a good word for Draco which had kept him out of prison and seemingly hadn't spared a second thought towards the old school bully ever since._

_ Either way one thing was clear: Harry, Ron and Hermione had many reasons not to trust or like Draco. The same however could not be said for his son. It would be so easy to lump the boy in with the failings of his father, especially as he looked almost like a carbon copy of the prat she had met on her first official trip to Florish and Blotts low those many years ago. But just because it was easy didn't mean that it was fair. The cheap shot Ron made about Scorpius being arrogant like his father just reminded her of taunting Snape used to give Harry about James. While she disliked Draco as much as the others she had had far less interaction with him. If any of the four were capable of being unbiased in the situation it was her._

_ So unbiased she would be. At least as much as possible anyhow. For Albus…for Albus…_

"Albus, are you listening to me?"

Albus was pushed violently out of his stupor as he noticed the bread roll flying towards his face. He had just enough time to catch it before it collided with his nose.

"Oi!" Albus stated angrily, flinging the pastry back towards his brother.

"I need you to pay attention, as this is now the most important thing in your life!" James proclaimed, his brown eyes shining as he held up his piece of parchment. "You've made it as Seeker on the Gryffindor team, which means I finally have a use for you besides shoving your abnormally small body under my bed to look for my socks."

"I'm not abnormally small!" Albus defended with a glare. "And don't try to bring Lily into this, she's just freakishly tall."

Albus did not need to be reminded that he was the shortest of his family, having been surpassed by his younger sister over the summer. While it seemed his siblings and most of his cousins had inherited the tall and willow Weasley frame he was of the short and stocky Potter variety. Which he was perfectly fine with, as long as no one brought it up…

"Lily's not a freak," Lucy defended as she focused hard on the design she was drawing on her forearm. Albus and the others grinned, knowing Lucy to be the specialist on the subject. She was one of the few cousins of her generation who had the true Weasley red in her hair. Usually kept in a messy bun held up the quill she was using, Albus was able to see her flyaway curls now reached to her hips. Homemade guitar pic earrings dangled from her ears and one could usually read a stanza of lyrics to her new favorite song written somewhere on her body. That was when she wasn't using the space to make a fake tattoo of Norwegian Ridgeback.

Her appearance could be considered rough, but she had a singing voice that would stop even the most conservative of people in their tracks. Which Albus knew drove her father Percy mad with worry that she would make good on her promise to join a rock band. Albus simply thought she was one of the coolest people he knew, even when she wore her black framed glasses.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, shrimp," James proclaimed. "All I need from you right now is to focus on Quidditch."

"We just got done with a two hour practice, and Nate said he loved my performance," Albus frowned, working hard to mask his nerves. Albus felt he had barely earned the spot as Seeker on the team. He loved the game and knew he had the talent for it, but what he lacked was a competitive nature. He flew because there was no other freedom like being up in the air, and he chased the Snitch because nothing felt as exhilarating. Until now he had only ever played against family and friends and it had all been in good fun. But now people were counting on him to win, and that expectation crippled his confidence with stress.

"Nathaniel Feldman is a softy of a captain," James proclaimed. "He doesn't even think it's necessary to stake out the opposition's tryouts this afternoon."

"The Slytherin tryouts?" Albus inquired in confusion. "Why would we…"

"Not watch them in order to see what we're up against? Exactly! That's why after lunch you, Freddy and I are going to the Quidditch field to see about their new captain."

"We are?" Albus asked nervously, directing his question more to Rose than his brother. His cousin gave him a worried yet helpless look over the inquiry.

"It's open tryouts," she concluded. "It's not like you're really spying or doing something wrong."

"I doubt they'll see it that way," he muttered back to her as his eyes sought out the corner of the Great Hall the Slytherins usually kept to. One of the larger tables was preoccupied by Second Years finishing their lunch and talking excitedly. Or at least as excitedly as Slytherins would allow themselves to look. It disturbed him how even when Basileios smiled it never quite reached his eyes…

Of course, he reminded himself, not all Slytherins were like this. He swore Scorpius nearly cried in laughter when Rose got covered in dragon dung…okay, perhaps that was not the best of examples…surely there was kindness in his face when they talked about Quidditch or Rachael Davies…

Months had passed since the last time Albus had spoken to Scorpius. Despite the hope that he could save the Malfoy from isolation with his own friendship, Albus hadn't gotten the chance to ever talk with him alone since the new school year had started. He always seemed to be surrounded by the Zabinis and other Slytherins in their gang. Though he wished this simply meant Scorpius had finally made friends and no longer required further company, Albus couldn't help but bristle. There was something about Basileios that alarmed Albus, even though he couldn't quite say why…

_Ginny's eyes flashed immediately over to where the Second Year Slytherins sat in order to search out Basileios. Albus was known for his big heart_. _It was what made him so wonderful. It was also what made him suspect when he vouched strongly for the young Malfoy. Occasionally his positive judgment of character showcased a naivety that worried his war-hardened parents. For Albus to mistrust someone without much due cause seemed unprecedented. Yet she could feel a tightening in her stomach that shot up warning signs as clear as __Veritaserum that the male Zabini was not to be underestimated. The part of her mind that shared a link with Albus was forming decisions to be cautious around Basileios and to avoid him at all costs. The mother part of her couldn't help but wish this distinction was spread to the people who chose to hang around him…_

_ …which, she and Albus just noticed, no longer included Scorpius…_

"Lucy Skye Weasley what **are **you doing?"

Albus quickly shifted his eyes and thoughts away from the Slytherin table, feeling strangely guilty about his thoughts and he tried focusing on his recently arrived relative.

While most of his other cousins shared strong resemblances to their siblings, Molly and Lucy Weasley couldn't look more different as far as sister went. Molly's hair was dark and perfectly smoothed back into a straight plait. While Lucy's nose was long and befreckled, Molly's was small, smooth and prone to wrinkling and twitching when irritated. Her clothes were also perfectly starched and clean while Lucy's uniform was intentionally mismatched and disgruntled.

"Searching for my inner dæmon, Molls," Lucy replied to her flabbergasted older sister without sparing her a look. "It came to me in a dream last night that my spirit guardian was a fierce dragon with a soft spot for contemporary jazz. That's why he's got a saxophone around his neck."

"That's absurd!" Molly stated irately.

"I know. I don't even like regular jazz! But I think he just likes seeing the flames blow out the end," Lucy replied happily.

"What would Mum and Dad say if they saw you wasting the quills and ink they provided for you on defacing your body?" Molly demanded.

"Mum would be proud! I'm expressing myself in art form just like her!"

"Mum works in an art gallery, not some two-Knut sleazy tattoo parlor! Clean yourself up and don't let me catch you drawing on yourself again!" she ordered, her prefect badge glinting with each twitch of her button nose.

"Fine, I won't draw on myself anymore. Happy?" Lucy asked, pulling down the sleeve of her leather jacket with a sarcastic smile. Molly simply rolled her olive green eyes as she walked away to sit down with her fellow prefects.

"Jimmy, give me your arm," Lucy asked, shoving up his sleeve as soon as her sister was out of sight.

"I want a lion eating a snake like it was spaghetti," he proclaimed without hesitance. "And as soon as she's done were off to the Quidditch field."

* * *

><p>The bread roll his brother had thrown at him during lunch might as well have lodged itself in Albus' throat as far as he was concerned. His ability to swallow seemed to have been robbed from him (along with his ability to breathe without thinking) as he sat with James and his cousin Fred in the Quidditch bleachers. Earlier concerns of being on the Gryffindor team intensified exponentially as he watched the Slytherin tryouts, for never before had he witness just how truly brutal the sport could be.<p>

The Slytherin captain, an apish and irascible specimen known as Titus Flint, seemed thoroughly pleased with his new elevation in rank and used the opportunity to highlight the reverence he dedicated to his chosen position: Beater. All those who arrived at the tryouts first had to show how they could take getting hit by a Bludger. All contestants were forced to fly around the pitch and allow him to gleefully bat a Bludger at their person. He seemed to be particularly forceful upon testing the younger students and the handful of girls who braved trying out.

"I will have no weaklings on my team!" he bellowed as a Sixth year named Lysithea tumbled to the earth after a Bludger collided with her temple.

The few that managed to stay on their brooms after such a vicious weed out were then prompted to showcase their talent by turning on their would-be teammates and exerting their superiority. Chasers tugged, pushed, and hexed their way to the Quaffle, only to be met fiercely by three violent Keepers who defended their posts with the same gusto a Hungarian Horntail protected their nest. All the while those clamoring to be Flint's pair Beater whacked the Bludgers about erratically, seemingly more concerned with the force of the hit then with the accuracy of where it landed.

"Is this really how the Slytherins play?" Albus inquired with a painful gulp, wincing as a rouge Bludger crashed into a nearby support beam.

"Of course not," James waved off, his Omnioculars still plastered to his face. "This is just tryouts against each other. They're much worse when they've practiced as a team and are playing against other Houses."

The blood in Albus' face began to drain as he pictured going up against those the demented Flint viewed worthy to be on his team. He quickly turned to face Fred in hopes of some solace.

"Don't worry too much," Freddy offered. "The only thing you need to look out for is the Snitch. Flint may be an ox, but Lysander and I are much quicker and almost always beat him to the Bludger."

"What about when you don't beat him to it?" Albus inquired.

"Ah, well that's when you worry," Fred grinned, his brilliant white teeth contrasting against his creamy dark skin. Albus let out a sigh and tried not to think about how his best defense against getting impaled by a Bludger was his jokester of a cousin and Lysander Scamander, a self-proclaimed pacifist.

Worries temporarily placed aside, Albus' perked himself up when he heard Flint call for those trying out for Seeker. It was this player he really needed to worry about, and therefore he pushed all other thoughts aside to research his competition.

Only two players stepped forward. The first was a lanky Fifth Year James identified as Thomas Bole. His rakish demeanor, James explained, was more due to the fact that he was Flint's best mate rather than his ability as he had never managed to be more than a second-string Keeper on the team thus far.

The other figure that stepped forward did so without swagger, but a curt and serious determination.

"Who is that?" Freddy asked, squinting to get a better look.

"Scorpius!" Albus replied without thinking, stunned that he hadn't picked him out of the crowd earlier.

"That Malfoy?" James gritted, pulling his Omnioculars away from his face for the first time during the tryout. "Well this will be a pathetic wash. The winner will be decided either on cronyism or how much money Malfoy's father dished out to buy his way on the team."

Albus cast a distasteful glance over at his brother before picking up the abandoned pair of Omnioculars off the bench. He had no idea Scorpius was a Seeker, and he was bursting with curiosity to see what kind of player he was.

Albus didn't have to wait long.

The Snitch was released and instantly the two opponents were up in the air, shooting after it. As if making his final determination between two other candidates, Flint singled out two potential Beaters to make the chase more interesting. The two of them sent Bludgers after the Seekers madly though with a biased precision. It was easy to see Flint would prefer his mate over a Second Year for the position, so nearly all the Bludgers were sent Scorpius' way.

What was not as easy as a guess was how brilliant a flyer Scorpius' truly was. He managed to dodge each blow and still stay on the unpredictable path of the Snitch. His technique was highly disciplined and he maintained the perfect form even when Bole tried knocking the smaller Slytherin off his broom. He was fast, agile, calculated, and managed to take in his surroundings while keeping focus on his target.

Furious with the turn of events, Flint released a third Bludger into the match. Scorpius and Bole were inches away from the Golden Snitch yet it was clear that in a matter of seconds it would be in Scorpius' hand. Flint swung his bat hard against the nearest Bludger and sent it whirling on a path towards the Malfoy's outstretched fingers. Bole saw the incoming object first and quickly pulled back from the chase. Scorpius however pulled up with a jolt, still maintaining a parallel trajectory with the Snitch.

The two other Beaters rose up with him, finding the Bludgers whizzing toward them in perfect timing. Almost as though synchronized, the Beaters sent the Bludgers hurdling towards Scorpius from either side of him in a move that would surely force him to pull back to escape collision.

With a flick of his head so quick Albus barely caught it, Scorpius took his eyes off the Snitch. At the last second possible he let his grip go on his broom handle and threw his body under. For a moment the crowd gasped as they felt certain he had fallen, but with the use of the Omnioculars Albus could see the truth. His legs had clenched themselves around the handle of his broom, allowing him to hang down and extend his arms just far enough to capture the Snitch. It was a remarkably dangerous and extremely athletic move Albus had only ever seen during the last Cup final.

The spectators and Slytherin opponents all cheered wildly over the maneuver. Even James and Fred couldn't help but express their dumbfounded amazement over what had just happened. The whole field seemed thoroughly impressed.

All except Flint.

Scorpius was hardly right-side up again before Flint flew over towards him and grabbed him by his robes. Though too far away to actually hear what was being said Albus could tell by enchanted vision that Titus was furious. Scorpius said nothing in reply as Flint continued to berate him, his face expressionless as Flint intruded further into his personal space. It took a whole minute of such abuse before Scorpius finally replied with his own curt words.

Whatever he had said was apparently the last straw in breaking the slight hump in Flint's back, as he answered with a sharp whack of his Beater's bat to Scorpius' stomach. Malfoy lurched forward, clearly unprepared for such an attack, and lost the balance he had on his broom.

"Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing treating your players like that?" James demanded, infuriated with the complete lack of respect Flint seemed to have for such a pristine position.

Albus reacted instinctively, rushing down the bleachers as fast as he could with the intent to jump over the fence to help, despite such a drop being significantly higher than the fall Scorpius would encounter. However when he reached the end of the stand he realized that Scorpius had not fallen, as his loyal broom had raced after him allowing him to grab hold before plummeting to the earth.

"I guess cronyism beats money and talent on the Slytherin team these days," James replied quietly, having joined Albus' side after chasing after him. Whether he intended to recklessly help Albus after witnessing such an atrocious wrong doing or if he merely planned to make sure his younger brother didn't break his neck Albus wasn't sure. He was however comforted by the fact that even though it was clear James didn't like the Malfoy he still despised the way Flint waved Bole over to join the circle of newly induced Slytherin Quidditch teammates.


	5. Nothing Personal

_(__**A/N: Thanks again for your patience! Finding time to write is difficult, and I only managed to finish this chapter because I hurt my foot and called into work. This is sort of a continuing chapter of the last which is why it is still focused on Albus and Ginny. Next chapter will be a Rose and Ron chapter**__**so that should be fun!)**_

Nothing Personal

_For the first time there was quiet amongst the four as the scene quickly changed from the bright outdoors of the Qudditch pitch to the dank dungeon of the Potions classroom. Even Ron couldn't help but project a flash of pity after reflecting over what he had just witnessed. Ginny was amazed such cruelty had been allowed during a school tryout, and the maternal side of her feared both for those on the Slytherin team and those who would soon oppose them. _

_ She had played Quidditch professionally and she knew of the dangers. From the moment both of her sons were able to grip on to a broom it had been clear to her that they were destined to be great players. The risk of the game, though covered clearly with any child in her supervision who requested to play, never outweighed her desire to pass the sport along to the next generation. After all the danger was part what made it fun._

_ But never did she imagine her son would be placed up against a rival so intent on physical pain. Nor did she ever believe she would feel so sorry for the son of Draco Malfoy, as his prowess as a player was unquestionable. Nothing in the world seemed more unfair for a twelve year old boy then to be robbed his rightful place on the Quidditch team…_

Nor did it seem fair that no matter how hard he focused or re-read the instructions, Albus just couldn't get his Swelling Solution to work properly. The toadstool mushroom that sat in front of him still remained pitifully limp and squat, especially when placed next to the frog Rose had tested her potion on that had swelled up to the size of a large dog.

"Very impressive, Ms. Weasley," Professor Pucey admitted lazily. "Place it over in the bin so we can return the carcass to its original size when we've completed our Deflating Draft."

The beam on Rose's face from a job well done and the rare praise from the biased Potions Master was slightly dampened. The thought that she would have to revisit the swollen toad in a week after being stored only in a plain wicker basket down in the dungeon caused her nose to wrinkle as she carried her engorged amphibian to the front of the class.

"However you, Mr. Potter," the professor continued with a smug tone, "seem once again to be failing miserably in this course. How unsurprising."

"I swear I followed to the letter," Albus contested, at a complete loss of where he went wrong.

"Clearly you are missing fragments of the alphabet," Pucey retorted. "This was made clear to me in your first paper when you kept referring to your calldren. I believe a refresher lesson in both grammar and science is in order. A 10 inch essay for you on just where you went horribly wrong, due Monday."

And with that the former Slytherin Chaser swept out of the room, leaving a fuming Albus behind.

"Lovely," he spat through gritted teeth. "Just what I wanted to do with my weekend."

"I'm sorry, Albus," Rose replied sympathetically. "I couldn't see where you went wrong either. But I'll be more than happy to help you sort it out for your assignment."

"Yeah," Albus grimaced, kicking his cauldron in defeat. A splash of his potion bubbled out on to the floor and on to his outstretched foot. He immediately jumped up, terrified of the ramifications of coming into contact with the Swelling Solution.

Luckily all that seemed to happen were his laces got a bit longer and fatter.

Luckily…

"You want me to help you clean up?" Rose offered, noting that nearly everyone else had cleared out. Albus too looked around, noticing that only he, Rose and Scorpius were left about.

"Erm, actually I think I'll be okay," he assured quickly as an opportunity presented itself. After once again persisting Rose was free to go on without him Albus found himself alone with Scorpius for the first time that term. He sat quietly at his desk, struggling with what exactly he wanted to say. Why he felt the need to say anything was beyond him, but he just couldn't help but feel badly for what he had witnessed the past weekend on the Quidditch pitch.

At first Scorpius seemed not to notice that anyone else was in the room, being more preoccupied with the ginormous slug that took up the length of his table. He seemed frozen in his place, unwilling to part from the extremely successful creation yet also refusing to touch it. Albus didn't blame him. The skin around the slug had been stretched so tightly you could see its insides slosh around and it looked close to its bursting point.

"What the hell do you want?" Scorpius grumbled when he could no longer continue to ignore the lingering presence of another person.

"Nice slug," Albus replied coolly. "A bit too exaggerated if you ask me. Almost as if one is over compensating for something…"

Scorpius snapped his head forward at the implication, an enraged yet begrudgingly playful look in his eyes.

"Yeah? And what do you call that limp mushroom you've got in your hands? Security?" Scorpius demanded.

"It's not the size of the mushroom, mate, it's how you use it," Albus explained confidently. Scorpius cocked his eyebrow.

"And how exactly do you plan on using that puny thing?" Scorpius asked with a garnish of amusement.

"Easy. I'll hide it in Pucey's desk. Soon it will start to fester and all his parchment will smell like…festering mushroom. It's get on his hands and clothes and it will be very mildly unpleasant for quiet sometime!... Until he finds it or showers or something…yeah," Albus answered, shaking his head happily. Scorpius let out a smirk that was very nearly a grin.

"You need to work on your deviousness a bit," he replied as he shook his head.

"There's a lot of things I need to work on," Albus shrugged. "But...um…I just wanted to say I'm real sorry about the tryouts. I thought you were brilliant."

"Oh…yeah," Scorpius mumbled, the small spark of lightness flickering out of his conversation. "It doesn't matter. I knew I wouldn't get a spot even if I tried. Flint never held back that he only intended to bring on his ugly mates."

"But you tried out anyways," Albus pointed out with a smile.

"So?" Scorpius defended brashly.

"So, you tried out and flew your damn hardest even though you knew you wouldn't make it. That's pretty admirable if you ask me," Albus continued. Scorpius' eyes settled on Albus' face with a hard and scrutinizing look. The harsh intensity of it caused Albus' easy smile to flicker.

"I'm not gay," Scorpius stated defiantly.

"What? Neither am I!" Albus defended in shock. "Why would you even bring that up?"

"It sort of felt like you were coming on to me," Scorpius replied, taking a half step back.

"I was trying to be nice to you!" Albus pressed, his brow furrowing in frustration. "It's not my fault you're such a prat you can't tell the difference."

Once again Scorpius released his almost-smile as he watched Albus fume indignantly. It was at that moment Albus caught on to the joke and realized that such an upfront compliment, while the norm in his family, may not be as easily accepted in comfort to others. A deflection of sorts would therefore be necessary. Albus made a mental note of the process before letting out his own grin.

"You sure you're not gay?" Scorpius inquired lightly.

"Sure I'm sure! Well…I did almost cry when the Cannons made it to the finals," Albus admitted. Scorpius waited a few seconds to reply, his almost-smile reaching its threshold.

"That's not gay," he replied, turning his head to the side to conceal his expression. Albus let out a laugh as he watched the Slytherin hiding his own smile, getting the feeling Scorpius shared a similar reaction upon the team's success.

"So your Swelling Solution, wow!" Albus stated, quickly changing the subject. "Yours is probably one of the best in the class."

"Except now I don't know what to do with the bloody thing," Scorpius replied, prodding it with the tip of his finger. The slug immediately shuddered like a heaping pile of gelatin.

"That's easy," Albus answered with a grin as he pulled out his wand. "_Wingardium Leviosa!" _

The slug instantly rose up into the air, perfectly suspended as Albus moved it over to the bin with his wand.

"Now why didn't I think of that?" Scorpius asked coolly as he watched Albus carefully place the slug on top of the bin.

"Charms I'm great at," Albus explained. "Defense Against the Dark Arts? Brilliant, of course. Transfiguration… my Snuff Box wasn't the prettiest, sure, but at least it didn't squeak. But Potions? It's like the whole subject is just against me!"

"I see," Scorpius said slowly, walking over to examine Albus' cauldron. He peered inside for a moment and almost instantly made an exasperated face. The Slytherin reached for one of the herbs on Albus' desk, tore off some of its leaves and tossed them into the potion. Instantly it turned from a muddy brown color over to a soothing honey gold. Scorpius siphoned some of it out and squeezed a few drops onto Albus' toadstool. Instantly the fungus swelled to an impressive size.

"How did you do that?" Albus inquired in excitement, rushing over to examine his engorged creation.

"You didn't add enough fluxweed," Scorpius explained easily. "It called for three tablespoons but it looks like you used teaspoons."

"Oh…OH!" Albus groaned, slapping a hand against his head. "I'm always doing that at home! Wait, how am I supposed to explain I just used the wrong measurement for one ingredient in ten inches?"

"Just go into depth about how you're averted to the letters "B" and "L" because you're such a Big Loser," Scorpius smirked as he started packing up his belongings.

"At least I made it on to my Quidditch team," Albus shot back quickly with a friendly grin. Scorpius' head jerked up indignantly, his eyes darkening in anger. Albus retained his friendly, joking expression until Scorpius in turn picked up on the jest at his expense. He finally let out a true smile along with a light chuckle before he started to walk out of the lab.

"Uh, Scorpius," Albus called out quickly, forcing the Malfoy to stop before he reached the door. "Since I don't have to spend all weekend trying to figure this stupid potion thing out you maybe want to go for a fly or something?"

Scorpius stopped in his stead, his eyebrows rising into his feathered blonde hair that fell across his face. He seemed surprised by the invite and it took a moment for his features to settle into its default look of aloofness.

"Look, Albus. You're a nice bloke and I like you, I do. I just can't be caught dead seen with you. It's nothing personal."

"Oh…right," Albus stuttered as he suddenly found himself alone in the Potions lab.

* * *

><p><em>"Well that was just rude," Ron proclaimed with a shaking head. "Albus sure has been picking rather weak memories to captivate how charming his little friend is."<em>

_ "I assume the point is in showing how they became friends," Ginny defended, remembering her chosen post of defending her son's choices. "And in case you failed to notice Scorpius did just help my son with his potion."_

_ That was of course after calling him a loser and proclaiming he couldn't be caught seen with him, she mused internally. Despite her desire to truly see through her son's eyes she too couldn't help but admit that Scorpius was not the most amiable of people. The good things he had done so far had yet to outweigh the negative comments and manner that seemed inherent in any Malfoy. It still seemed unreasonable for Albus to defend this boy so adamantly._

_ And yet still she felt that gut feeling (well, she had Albus' gut feeling) that there really was more to the Slytherin then he let on. This belief seemed to be highlighted by the few times Scorpius dropped what she (well, Albus) was becoming more aware was an aloof front and allowed a bit of what was (by Albus' understanding) the true Scorpius to shine through._

_ And that hope, Albus' hope, was what his mother had to cling on to when she focused on the familiar surroundings of the Gryffindor Quidditch dressing room._

"Alright, mates" Nate Feldman proclaimed, marching back and forth in front of his team as a general preparing his troops for battle. "It's the first match of the year, and we're up against the Slytherins."

"So that explains why a third of the crowd is wearing so much green. I thought they had changed the dress code," Freddy replied in a yawn, causing Amy and Fiona (Chaser and Keeper respectively) to giggle.

"I'd take this more seriously, Weasley!" Nate warned with narrowed blue eyes. "It is yours and Lysander's job to protect the rest of the team from Flint and that ogre of a fifth year from getting at the Bludgers. They're highly dangerous and unfortunately accurate when they're focused. You must be vigilant in your attacks and faster than lightning! I need you two to be anywhere and everywhere ages before Flint and Turner get there, you understand? Yes, Lysander."

"I need to go to the bathroom," he proclaimed dreamily as he let his raised hand fall from the air. This caused another round of laughter amongst the team.

"My Merlin, does no one in this ruddy room give a damn about what I'm saying?" Nate demanded.

"Of course we do," James answered in stretch. "But let me wrap it up for you. Amy, you, me and Nate are to throw the red ball. Fiona, you catch the red ball. Freddy and Lysander, you hit the steel balls at the other team and Albus you chase after the little gold one. Got it?"

"What an inspirational and ingenious plan!" Amy proclaimed, sweeping her curly blonde hair up into her "get ready" pony tail.

"I wonder why no one else thinks of that," Fiona chimed in as she strapped on her helmet.

"I know, right?" James charmed, his face and voice poised in the leadership tone he pulled off so well. "Alright, enough chat. Let's go out there and kick some arse. One, two, three, go Gryffindor!"

The whole team managed to stick their hands in for the chant and raise them up in glory. All except Nate, who stood back dumbstruck and mutinous, despite being the Captain.

"How is it that you lot never listen to me and always rally around him?" he grumbled as he picked up his broom.

"You talk too much," Freddy replied easily. "Besides, James just has that commanding "Harry Potter" presence that you, mate, just can't compete with. Truth hurts, but take it out on the Slytherins."

"I still have to go to the loo!" Lysander proclaimed to Albus as they started to head towards the pitch. "All that talk of me going everywhere and anywhere got me all stimulated if you know what I mean."

Albus did know what he meant. Not the part about him having to go to the loo, but the stimulation. He had never felt so alive in his whole life. He was thrilled, alert, energized and nervous as all out. The beating of his heart pulsated throughout his entire body causing him to shake in excitement upon each step. Vaguely did he recall his father once retelling him the nerve wrecking sensation he had felt upon his first Qudditch match, and with Albus' predilection to nerves upon encountering something new he had felt certain that he would be unable to put on his Qudditch robes, let alone actually fly. But at that moment he felt so elated, so pumped, that he felt certain he would be able to soar without the broom clutched tightly in his hand.

That is until he realized Lysander continued speaking to him.

"But I suppose it is all for the best. My mother sent me some of her Gulping Plimpy soup to help focus today. The stuff tastes terrible but it's best that I keep in all the nutrients from it that I can, what with Flint's recent temper after sending one of his players to the hospital wing. Or was it that he already had a bad temper and that's what caused him to send him to the hospital…"

"Flint did what?" Albus inquired, shaking the blonde haired third year out of his dreamy state.

"Oh yes, Flint apparently sent a Bludger right into his new Seeker's head during their last practice. They still haven't gotten poor Bole to wake up. Didn't I tell you? Or maybe I was thinking Lorcan did. I'm always getting us mixed up." Lysander pondered as his thoughts drifted over to his identical twin in Ravenclaw.

"Who'd they get to replace…"

But Albus' question was quickly drowned out by the cheering of fans as they entered the Quidditch pitch.

Now Albus was beginning to understand why his father so distinctly remembered the all-consuming anxiety and panic upon his first game. Suddenly he felt the eyes of hundreds of his peers staring at him, all of whom were either shouting for or against him and his teammates. The weight of expectation for him to not only reach the Snitch first but make it interesting for all of those people weighed him down to where he couldn't imagine the flimsy piece of wood wobbling in his hand would manage to support him, let alone race after a ridiculously small and nimble object. The whole thing was impossible. Absolutely impossible.

And then he saw Scorpius, standing directly in front of him on the opposite team, wearing the exact expression on his face Albus imagined was on his. For a moment they both appeared to be two insignificant Second Years thrown into something far larger than either of them could handle, something that no doubt would break them both.

But that moment ended quickly. Without thought Albus hardened up his face, not needing to look over to know Scorpius had done the same. It was game time, and Qudditch (despite popular opinion) was not just about the Seeker. Albus had a team to not let down and a burning desire to prove to himself that he deserved the position he had loved so much.

Flint and Nate gripped hands briefly, making the contact as short as possible. Moments later the Bludgers and Golden Snitch were released. The little golden orb whizzed first over to Scorpius than over to himself, playfully mocking the two Seekers before zooming off into oblivion. Both Scorpius and Albus kept their eyes on the ball for as long as they could until it was no longer possible to catch the glint made by the weak rays that permeated the thick and low cloud cover. Then a serene moment of silence where suddenly fourteen hearts pounded in suspenseful unison.

And then the blow of a whistle changed everything. Suddenly the air was filled with cheers and zooming teenagers racing after one another and the flying objects that were inherent to their position. Between the cheers of the crowd, the dreamy commentary of Lorcan, and the shouts of the players all melding and clashing together it was almost impossible for one to understand what was going on, let alone think.

Lucky for Albus he needed to do no such thing. Once up in the air his nerves and impeding curiosity were all left behind and replaced with the elation of flight and a clear communication between his gut and his brain. All the lessons and the practicing he did were all to polish off and keep fresh the inherent knowledge of how to fly. Albus knew the less he thought about what he actually did the better a flyer he would be come crunch time. All he needed to do was take in his surroundings and simply let his gut instinct lead him.

The clearing of his mind was only compromised by the brutality of the game. Flint and Turner mercilessly sent their captured Bludgers after Amy, seeing her as the easiest of the three Chaser targets due to her size and gender. This tactic had the added bonus of infuriating James and Nate to where they spent almost as much time protecting her from assault as did Fred and Lysander, allowing the three Slytherin Chasers easier access to the Quaffle. The violent cluster of the game almost charged Albus to join in himself to defend his brother and teammates, as the Slytherins had no qualms against ramming into their opponents with the obvious intention of knocking them off their broom even if it caused a penalty.

But in reality Albus knew the best thing he could do to help his team was to catch the Snitch as early as possible. He focused his attention back on searching for this obstacle, but as his keen eyes looked about he could not help but have his mind wander back over to his opponent…

_Ginny could hardly focus on her son's thoughts as she floated about in the open air. Though perfectly safe in the memory, she could not quite wrap her mind around being suspended a hundred feet from the ground without a broom. Harry and Ron looked green with unease; Hermione appeared to be close to fainting. Every time Albus moved they found themselves moving with him at the exact speed and altitude. Such a break against Physics was enough to keep anyone preoccupied in their own thoughts and shut out any other. Ginny therefore did not know exactly what was going through Albus' mind that had him so distracted that he, unlike his seasoned father, did not notice the flittering Snitch that whirled below his feet._

_ "Albus!" Harry cried, trying in vain for his son to retroactively pay attention. Much like when he was at home being sought out to do his chores, Albus didn't listen. Ginny began to swallow her fear to understand just what her daft boy was thinking about when all of a sudden there was movement. Scorpius had begun to race and cut upwards out of nowhere, speeding through the sky as though after the Snitch…going the exact opposite direction of Albus' feet…_

Like a lazy cobra finally attacking its prey Scorpius was off, clearly after the Snitch. Albus didn't hesitate to chase after him, despite not seeing the Snitch himself. Scorpius was fast, but Albus knew himself to be quicker. He powered after his opponent, searching frantically for the Snitch, when just as suddenly as he had started Scorpius stopped.

Perplexed, it wasn't until he heard the groaning of the crowd that he had realized his mistake.

"And Potter falls for the classic feinting technique expertly executed by Malfoy," Lorcan explained. "This is used to fake out Seekers when they themselves are closer to the Snitch, but the opposing Seeker diverts attention away instead of racing after it. A tricky move seeing as how Potter was standing on top of the thing. Speaking of stands, Lysander have you seen my favorite pair of socks? The ones with the neon grindylows on them? Toss your bat up in the air twice for no and six times if you stole them…"

It was all Albus could do not to sink into despair. He had been standing on the Snitch and he hadn't seen it? He had fallen for one of the oldest tricks in the book? A true sense of worthlessness settled upon him. The urge to simply fly out of the stands and into oblivion tugged on him seductively. The humiliation he felt was all encompassing and overbearing, and at once all of his insecurities and woes swirled around in his head, blocking out all light and optimism. He might as well have been chasing a Dementor for all….

"OI! Shitehead!"

Albus was literally shaken out of his stupor by a shouting James who had flown up to him to grab his little brother by his robes.

"Wake up, Albus! Get your small head back in the game!" James demanded fiercely.

"But I… the Snitch…" Albus stuttered.

"I'll beat you up for that later, but for now the game is still going! You still have time to redeem yourself."

"But I messed up," Albus pleaded frantically, begging his brother to understand.

"We all mess up, Alb! Now man up and show that arrogant little inbred what we Potters are made of!" James ordered, punching his brother hard in the arm before flying back into the thick of things to heroically snatch the Quaffle from Anthony McNair.

Albus quickly shook his head, his brother's words resounding in his ears. James was right, something he'd never thought he'd admit. It was time to man up. Scorpius had fooled him once, but he'd be damned if he'd let him do it again.

As the game played on the cloud cover receded lower and lower on the players until rain finally broke out. It became nearly impossible to see his teammates, let alone the crowd below them. But Albus refused to let such a thing as impaired vision stop him. He kept his eyes constantly on the hunt, all the while keeping tabs on Scorpius and the areas around him. If the Snitch were to be sighted again, Albus was determined to be the first to do so.

And then it happened. A sudden crack of lighting lit up and darkened the grey-green sky. It was only for an instant, but that was all Albus needed to spot out the glinting flitter of the Snitch well above his head. Albus wasted no time shooting for it, all energy and concentration aimed at his goal. As he raced upwards he realized the Snitch was equidistant from his and Scorpius' locations, and that the Slytherin had already started after it.

For one moment Albus felt certain that Scorpius would beat him as they each raced higher and higher. Albus was faster, but Scorpius had a two second head start which was all that it would take. From below Albus heard the sounds of his teammates and opponents as they realized the chase was on. Without a doubt Albus knew a Bludger or two were about to be sent in their direction. The only question was who was in possession?

And then the idea hit Albus like, well, a Bludger. The fear of Flint's mighty wrath when yielding his bat was infamous. He had already hospitalized one of his players and the adrenaline that rushed through his veins upon playing his arch rival had only brought about higher levels of violent intensity and accuracy with his aim. No one knew this fact better than the ever alert Scorpius, who had wowed the crowd during his tryouts by masterly evading Flint's blows. But in order to do so Scorpius would have to do one thing, the one thing any sane and intelligent person would have to do: take his eyes of the Snitch to look back at the Bludger.

Albus, on the other hand, intended to do no such thing.

He rose higher and higher, fighting against gusts of wind and rain, never letting his eyes off the Snitch. He and Scorpius were neck and neck, even really, except for the anatomical fact that Scorpius' reach was a bit longer. The two of them crashed and fought each other wildly, bumping one another off course only slightly so they themselves weren't derailed.

And then they heard it. The unmistakable crack of the Bludger being sent their way. Albus could sense the twinge of fear Scorpius involuntarily expelled upon the sound, and as soon as he could determine where the Bludger was headed he swerved away. But Albus continued, his eyes and determination never leaving the golden orb that flew millimeters in front of his outstretched fingers…

Blackness. Only for a moment, like an extended blink. The sudden realization that one was not only not breathing but failed to remember how to do so. And wind. Wind everywhere, whooshing through your hair and ears as you inexplicably fell through it. Nothing but clouds surrounded him, and nothing but the ground awaited him. The only thoughts that flashed through his mind were that the cloud cover was too think for anyone on the ground to see him before it was too late, and how the flash of gold of Rachael Davies hair was more alluring than any Snitch he had ever caught…

"ALBUS!"

He was dimly aware of his name being called out from somewhere far away, though the numbing pain in his chest cause a disorder from an exact location point. He felt a wet grip over his limp wrist, pulling him up for a few seconds, all before he collided into the ground.

Blackness again. Only this time there was a little more brown and grey in the hues. He had not the inclination to ponder if this was better than complete darkness, as every single piece of his body felt like it had been shattered. He opened up his mouth to call for help but only a squeak of a whisper came out.

"Albus!" called the same voice from before. As his eyes came into better focus he was able to see a soaking wet Scorpius kneeling over him, an open wound on his forehead gushing as though something hard had hit it. A throbbing in his own head made him feel as if he knew what that hard object might have been.

"Albus, are you okay? Say something!" Scorpius demanded frantically. Albus tried to cooperate, but before any words could form he felt a strange wriggling in his clenched fist. Grinning miraculously, he opened his hand and produced the fluttering figure for Scorpius, feeling this action more than any other could express how he felt.

Scorpius' eyes widened in amazement.

"You actually caught the bloody thing?" he asked, a shocked smile plastered on his face. "You reckless son of a…"

But then Scorpius was gone, unceremoniously pushed to the side a dozen others crowded over him. Albus felt he recognized everyone around him, and managed to keep his hold on the Snitch before once again passing out.

* * *

><p>"Have I told you you are the coolest little brother ever?" James elated as he vigorously rubbed Albus' bandaged arm.<p>

"Stop it, James! You're going to give him a burn," Rose surmised, pushing her cousin off his brother.

Albus however, could hardly stop grinning. It had been a permanent fixture upon his face since he had woken up in the hospital wing, told he had broken eight bones (all of which an aging Madam Pomfrey had mended before he had regained consciousness), and received a resounding cheer from his brother and cousins as they all congregated around his bed.

"I still just wish we could have actually seen you catch it," Dominique regressed, running his fingers through his lush blonde hair.

"You couldn't see me catch it?" Albus asked, his mind still a bit fuzzy on the details of what had occurred.

"No, it was too dark to see anything," Molly answered, clutch marks on her cheeks still visible despite this claim.

"It wasn't until we saw you and Malfoy hit the dirt that we knew anything had happened," Roxanne continued as she stood aside her older brother Fred, still dressed in his wet Quidditch robes.

"So no one saw what happened?" Albus repeated in perplex, spending the time to actually recall the events for the first time since waking up.

"Just that you and Malfoy fell at about the same time," Lucy piped.

"Probably because he was the one who pushed you off your broom," Rose groused as she smoothed her cousin's comforter.

"No, no he saved me!" Albus answered adamantly. "It was a Bludger to the chest that knocked me off my broom. Scorpius flew and probably almost broke his own neck to catch me."

"He…he saved you?" Rose inquired in a whisper, completely taken aback by this comment.

"We figured you two struggled to the ground, and that's how he got his cut on his forehead," Louis expressed casually, motioning to the back of the ward. It was only then that Albus realized that he and his family were not alone.

"He really saved you?" Rose asked again in deep worry, as though such an occurrence ran against everything she thought she knew.

"Who cares?" James demanded. "What matters is we won and my little brother is a hero!"

The resounding wave of praise was short lived as the two figures from the other side of the ward headed towards them. Albus could just make out Scorpius, his forehead free of scar but wrinkled with determination as he marched away from a screaming Flint.

"… and you're supposed to catch the Snitch, not the fucking Seeker of the other team!" Flint roared, apparently at the end of a long rant.

"And you're supposed to actually know _**who**_ you're aiming your blows at, and not just wildly send a Bludger at your own teammate," Scorpius replied matter-of-factly, not bothering to turn to look at his Captain. In fact the only thing that seemed to make him stop was the posse of Weasleys and Potters staring at him.

"You think you can talk to me any way you want just because you're Daddy's rich? Well you've got another thing coming if you think that is going to keep you on my team!" Flint bellowed.

"Fine, kick me off. Good luck finding another lunatic willing to put up with your abuse, especially after putting two of your Seekers in the hospital wing. Better yet, why don't we go explain the whole thing to Headmistress McGonagall? I'd be happy to sort out the mystery of just what happened to Bole," Scorpius retorted rigidly. Flint stopped in his tracks.

"What really happened…you're bluffing. You don't know anything!" Flint accused, though his voice was no longer as steady as it had been.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. So either kick me off the team and find out or get your putrid face out of mine," Scorpius warned sternly, looking up into the wild eyes of the Sixth year without fear. Flint heaved for a moment before storming off.

Albus and his family all remained still as they watched the row. For a moment he felt certain Scorpius had forgotten he had an audience. But then he turned and looked at the brood, his eyes catching Albus'. He turned as if to leave, then apparently thinking better of it, turned back and headed towards them.

Instantly Dominique, Fred, Louis and James all straightened up and rounded on him protectively. Scorpius hesitated before rolling his eyes and addressing Albus anyways. He stood firmly and directly, his face serious.

"That," he stated in an accusatory and disgusted tone, "was the dumbest, most reckless flying I have ever seen in my life. I should have let you crash to the ground and let that knock some sense into your thick Potter skull."

A moment of silence was all it took for him to break out into a small smile and extend his hand for Albus to shake. While the rest of his family stood around him dumbstruck Albus continued his grin.

"You're just jealous because you wish you were as dumb as me," he retorted, before grasping the Slytherin's hand. Scorpius let out a quiet laugh before letting go. He then nodded curtly to Albus and winked at Rose, an action that caused her to blush and become riddled with irritation (even though even she couldn't exactly say why) before he sauntered out of the hospital wing.

* * *

><p><em>Ginny's heart melted with affection as she watched that smug blonde angel walk away. She knew of what things lay for Scorpius in the future, of what devious activities awaited him. She understood why her brother and sister-in-law were so opposed to having Scorpius in their daughter's life.<em>

_ But Scorpius had saved her son's life. And no matter what else happened there was nothing that could take that fact away. She was indebted to him, and now more than ever felt certain that Albus' gut was to be trusted…_

Albus' gut was grumpy with hunger, rolling about his internal organs with a fitful need for food. This was something Rose didn't quite seem to understand as she lollygagged about the library, chatted with her friends, and allowed herself to get entangled with a discussion with Sir Cadogan as he wreaked havoc on the portraits surrounding the Great Hall.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming!" Rose laughed as he dragged her into the Hall. She paused only to search out some of their friends. Having spotted Clair, Lucy and Timothy Grimes at a nearby table she waved and started walking their way. Albus however did not follow suit, as he had spotted something that took his own interest.

"Albus, you coming?" she asked with a friendly smile.

"Err, in a minute," he answered. "I have something to do real fast."

Rose furrowed her brow until she noticed what Albus was looking at. Scorpius sat alone at a small table in the back, his head bowed in a book as he lazily ate his meal.

"Albus, don't…I thought you were starving!" she called out, a hesitant worry creeping in to her tone.

"I'll just be a minute! Save me some potatoes."

And with that he walked over to Scorpius' solitary table and sat down without comment.

"I don't recall extending you an invitation for you to sit down," Scorpius stated dryly without removing his eyes from his book.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is there a waiting list I need to sign up for, or some kind of maximum capacity limit I'm breaking?" Albus inquired with a smile as he searched around them. "I didn't realize so many people were clamoring to sit with you one had to RSVP to…"

"What do you want, Potter?" Scorpius demanded as he rolled his eyes out of his novel.

"Come on, mate. Don't sit here by yourself. Come join me and my friends," Albus offered, his smile steady.

"Somehow I don't think I am exactly welcomed," Scorpius answered slowly as he cast a glance at the stony look on Rose's face.

"Of course you're welcomed!" Albus replied. "I just welcomed you!"

"Thanks, but no thanks," Scorpius stated as he returned to his book.

"Fine, I'll just eat here with you. Pass the potatoes please."

"What are you doing?" Scorpius demanded roughly.

"Trying to eat," Albus retorted as he grabbed the serving of mash himself. "You have terrible table manners, by the way."

"Why are you sitting with me?" Scorpius pressed, his blue eyes narrowing harshly.

"Look, you saved my life…"

"A terrible error on my part…"

"…in front of the whole school. I think it's okay if people see us eat a meal together."

"Look, it's not like I was trying to be heroic or anything. I just…flew after you. It was nothing…"

"Personal?" Albus completed with a sly smile. Scorpius opened his mouth to speak but caught his words. He abandoned his perfect posture for a moment to slump back into his chair and mutter something incoherently.

"Most people still think I just pushed you off your broom," he spat, as if such a rumor were Albus' fault.

"No one actually thinks that is true, I've told everyone what you did," Albus relayed. He paused for a moment as he looked at the large table holding Bryony, Basileios and the other Slytherins in their year, whispering to one another frantically and sending glowering looks in their direction. "Your Housemate friends certainly seem to believe it."

"Yeah, well, people tend to believe the worst," Scorpius replied bitterly.

"Is that why you're not sitting with them anymore?" Albus asked a little guiltily. The stern reserve in Scorpius' face relented at seeing Albus' woeful reaction.

"No. I don't sit with them because they're a bunch of useless cunts."

Albus barked out in laughter at the bluntness of the statement. Scorpius too let out a smirk before he tried to return back to his book.

"So why have you stopped sitting with them, really?" Albus pressed. Unaffected by Scorpius' patent "don't mess with me" glare, the Slytherin seemed at a loss to why he apparently had no choice but to tell Albus the truth.

"Last summer…stupid Pucey wrote to my parents telling them even though I was at the top of my class that I seemed to have trouble interacting socially," Scorpius answered with irritation.

"He said that?" Albus inquired.

"Actually I think his exact words were "friendless loner", but I tend to paraphrase," Scorpius muttered. "Why use someone else's thoughts when mine are so much better."

"What did your parents say to that?" Albus asked tentatively, unsure of what kind of relationship he had with his family.

"What do you think they did?" Scorpius demanded with a cocked eyebrow. "They worried. They…my father…well he thought it was his fault and I just couldn't have that. So I tried to tolerate being around my housemates but it just didn't stick."

"I see," Albus said quietly. "What did he say when Pucey wrote to him about the match?"

"I expect a Howler any minute now," Scorpius replied, covering up his grin with a sip of his tea. Albus laughed again as he relaxed back into his chair.

"You know, you don't have to choose between them and being a friendless loner. We can be friends," Albus pointed out happily.

"No we can't," Scorpius stated as he finished his drink.

"And why not?" Albus asked with a tilted head.

"Because…just because. We're not allowed to be friends." Scorpius answered in a sigh.

"Not allowed? Where is that written?" Albus challenged.

"The stars," Scorpius quipped, though he couldn't help but laugh in exasperation. "Come on, your family and my family don't exactly get along."

"I'm sorry, is your name Draco? Am I a Harry? Have we slipped into some time portal where this is twenty years ago? I think not."

"But…"

"We don't have to be like our fathers were with each other. I like you even though you are an arrogant, strutting little twit. That's where dad and I differ."

Scorpius stared at him adamantly, looking over Albus as if trying to find his catch.

"Why do you care so much about this?" Scorpius asked desperately.

"Why do you?" Albus asked with a shrug, his mouth now filled with food. Scorpius couldn't help but laugh as he shook his head in relent.

"My father is going to hate this," Scorpius said simply. "Growing up I thought "damned Potter" was one word."

"So that means yes?" Albus asked in excitement.

"I guess if you want to hang around me I can't stop you," he stated slyly.

"Cool! So what are you reading?" Albus emphasized his question by grabbing the book out of Scorpius' hand to inspect it.

"I can already tell this isn't going to work," Scorpius groused in irritation.

"Cartomancy, Tessomancy and Xylomancy: An Abridged Anthology of Practical Divining. Wow. You should really get along with Rose and all the rubbish she reads," Albus proclaimed as he examined the thousand page volume with mysticism. "Let us talk about something else though. So my Qudditch line up has been giving me a little bit of trouble this week…"


	6. Blood and Tears

_**(A/N: So…it has been a long time since I've updated. To be honest I had grown uninspired after writing HP fanfiction for five years. Then I read the Hunger Games and launched in to that story. I update that upon occasion but I have noticed something. Those of you who have read my other stories know I'm not one to beg for reviews. That being said there is just something so… lacking in the responses from the Hunger Game readers. A few reviews asking to update, no detail, no real feeling. Then today I found a review posted to my Unwinding of Percy Weasley fic that was so long it didn't fit in the email. I went back and looked at the reviews from this story and how so many have requested I continue, gone into so much detail of why they liked it, using words like poignant, and I realized I had let something important slip away. I know it is just a silly story but I feel like I had abandoned it. So if you're still with me please forgive me for my absence, and know I'm already working on the next chapter. Love always, Audrey)**_

Blood and Tears

_Ron Weasley felt mutiny afoot._

_He cursed himself inwardly and glowered outwardly for ever agreeing to this ridiculous venture. It didn't matter to him what Malfoy had done to win over his nieces and nephews, the thought of him going anywhere near his daughter, let alone dating her, and Merlin help him if he even __**thought**__ about touching her…_

_Much to his dislike Ginny seemed won over by his actions saving Albus. Harry and Hermione seemed to be swaying in that direction also. Ron, however, would not be moved. This had nothing to do with him not caring for Albus. Quite the opposite, he considered Albus to be his son. He and Rose had been inseparable from the cradle and the boy was at Ron's house more often than he was. He loved Albus with all of his heart and would do anything to protect him._

_Which is why his stance against Malfoy remained firm despite rescuing Albus from his fall. Snape had saved his life, and regardless of the Professor's courageous efforts against Voldermort he still knew the man personally to be a colossus arse. Wormtail had spared him and Harry with his hesitance and died for it, but that didn't mean he was anxious to buy his son a rat for school. And, worst of all, he had helped to save Draco Malfoy's sorry hide on multiple occasions, an action which he could honestly say was the biggest mistake in his life as it allowed him time to procreate. If only he had let him die…_

_Ron shook his head, that thought a little too dark even for the circumstance, and he felt grateful that the Vivid Pensieve was not turned on him. He could not bear the look of shock mixed with pity Hermione would have given him if she knew._

_Instead he straightened up and forced himself to focus. He would need to be in top condition to counter-act any persuasion the Malfoy brat used to fool his way into his family's good graces. He needed to recall the generations of abuse that family had reined on his. Disputes had to be made to showcase while loved ones like Tonks and Sirius had pulled themselves away from their dark family, Scorpius seemed everything like his father. And he would have to remind them that despite what he would do when he was young, Malfoy would still become (and therefore always be) a dangerous drug addict._

_He would be tough; unmovable in his position. He would not let his beloved daughter be hurt by a snake waltzing around in designer clothing. He would protect his daughter and keep his friends on the right track to ensure that boy was out of their lives forever no matter what. _

_This assurance only intensified as the Great Hall transitioned to the Gryffindor Common room, with a sweet twelve year old Rose laughing as she walked down the spiral staircase…_

"I'm serious!" Clair Pepper expressed to her giggling friend, though she herself could hardly contain her own grin. "It was awful! My whole trunk reeked for days and that wasn't the half of it! You try explaining to Muggle parents that your friend snuck a Dungbomb in your luggage as a prank on your visit back home from school. They already thought they were sending me to a loony bin!"

"I told you not to show so much interest in them to Fred," Rose laughed as her friend retold her tale woefully. "He was bound to show you sooner or later!"

Both she and Clair continued to laugh as they reached the bottom of the spiral staircase. It was about an hour before classes started and fellow Gryffindors were heading out the portrait in groups for breakfast. As was agreed the night before, Clair and Rose settled on the couch to wait for Timothy and Albus so they could all start their day together. The only others sitting with them were a fastidiously studying Molly trying to ignore the lazy strums of Lucy's bright purple guitar as she hummed a dreamy melody.

"Lucia, will you cease that noise?" Molly demanded as her brown curls fell menacingly in front of her face. "The O.W.L.S are in less than four months and I'm trying to study!"

Lucy answered her sister with her signature easy smile and a chord reminiscent of a minstrel.

"_Oh "O" is for Outstanding,  
>The grade you cannot beat!<br>"W" is for the World you'll join  
>when school has been complete!<br>"L" is for the Lengths you'll go  
>until this test is in the clear!<br>And "S" is for oh Shite!  
>You still have the N.E.W.T.S in Seventh Year! <em>

_Oh "N" is for Nefarious…"_

"Erg, shut up!" Molly screamed as Lucy started the second verse of her peppy tune. "I'm going down for breakfast."

Rose's older cousin barely said a word as she gathered all her notes up in a huff before marching out the door. Lucy simply left a lazy smile on her face as she returned to her nonsensical strums.

"That was great," Rose applauded. "Been trading lyrics with the Sorting Hat again?"

"Say what you will about that garment, the little cap has rhyme," Lucy replied with a grin. "But in all honesty that little ditty was for Moll's sake. Annoying her is the only way to get her to eat."

Rose beamed at her cousin upon hearing the sentiment. Out of all her cousins' siblings, Lucy and Molly were by far the most opposite and the ones who clashed the most. It warmed her heart to see despite that they still looked after one another. It made her excited for next year when Hugo and Lily would finally join them. She felt quite certain her little brother was going to need all the help he could get.

And speaking of family members who needed help….

"Albus!" Clair gasped as she caught sight of the boys coming down their stairway. Lucy and Rose both whipped around to see a staggering Albus being supported by a red faced Timothy. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine," Rose responded, rolling her eyes at the dramatics. "He's just not awake yet."

"But he looks so pale! Tim, let me help you!" Clair offered as she leaped off the sofa.

"No, it's okay, I got him!" Timothy answered quickly, a hint of possessiveness in his voice as he lowered his languid friend next to him on the couch.

"Good morning, Albus," Rose greeted with an exasperated smile, more than accustomed to her best friend's morning routine.

"Bad. Very bad, wicked morning. Sleep want me…" he groaned, falling to the side so his head landed in Clair's lap. The blonde immediately perked up upon realizing her new role as Albus' pillow, and she looked down upon him longingly. In turn, Timothy could not keep his eyes off of Clair, and once again his cheeks blushed red.

Rose noted the odd change in expression between her friends but did not bother to process it as she was far more focused at the pressing matter at hand.

"How, erm, how do we wake him up?" Clair asked in a whisper, sounding as though she wished to accomplish nothing of the sort.

"Easy," Rose replied as she dipped into her robes and pulled out a small gold object. "Albus! Here boy! You want the Snitch? I got a Snitch for you!"

"Rose!" Clair barked indignantly. "Albus is not a dog…"

She was silenced by the sudden movement of Albus popping his head off of her lap at the sound of his cousin's voice.

"You ready Albus? Get the Snitch!"

And with that Rose threw the stationary gold ball she materialized in her pocket each morning at the far side of the room. Albus immediately sprung to life to chase after it, getting in only half a stride as his shin connected with the coffee table.

"Albus!" Clair and Tim both cried in unison.

"Whoops," Rose grimaced, standing up to check on his head.

"Hehe, epic," Lucy commented as she threw her red hair back in a laugh.

"Ugh, somebody get the stats on the bloke who just attacked me!" Albus groaned as he picked himself off the floor.

"About two and a half feet tall, 10 kilograms, and most likely a thousand years old," Rose obliged as she helped him to his feet. "I believe however he did have a curly haired accomplice who forgot to look before she threw."

"Oh," Albus acknowledged , nodding his head as he looked down. "How did I get clothes on? And why is my scarf so short?"

"Because it's your ferret," Rose stated simply, gently peeling the white and gray animal off her cousin's neck.

"Finn! I already told you that you can't come to class with me. You eat my parchment." Albus grabbed his pet, kissed his head, then tossed him on the couch haphazardly. Finn, used to such treatment and similar to his owner in terms of sleep, simply shrugged it off and settled down to the best part of the couch before any of the cats claimed it.

Rose laughed as she grabbed her cousin's arm to lead him down to breakfast with their two friends in tow. She could only imagine their reactions to Albus' morning habits as they made their way to the Great Hall. His antics were quite peculiar to those caught unawares by them. Rose, on the other hand, had shared cribs, Christmases, bad dreams and every secret she had ever had with her cousin with complete reciprocation. There was nothing about Albus that caught her unawares.

"Oi!"

Rose was pulled from her pleasant thoughts as her cousin flinched in response to a small object being chucked at his head. She threw her hand out quickly to catch the white apparition before it fell to the ground.

"A sugar cube?" she stated in confusion.

"Oh no," Albus groaned with a guilty pleasure grin. Rose didn't need to ask any further questions about the origin of the sugar cube. There was only one thing that made her cousin smile like that. She crushed the cube to granules in her clinched fist.

"Heads up, Potter," Scorpius Malfoy's sly and arrogant voice ordered as he sauntered over to their party. "You never know what the day is going to throw at you."

"Especially when you're around to do the throwing," Albus replied good-naturedly, shaking some residue sugar out of his tousled hair.

"Got to keep you on your toes," Scorpius smirked, "if you don't beat out Ravenclaw by at least a two hundred points tomorrow we've got no shot to making it to the House Cup."

"You've got no shot in making the House Cup because your team is filled with petty, maniacal cretins," Rose spat.

_Ron smiled happily at her wit, proud that she harbored his distaste of the boy while using her mother's vocabulary._

Scorpius' playful grin somehow manifested into a sneering smirk without a flick of his lips as he turned to his addresser.

"Well hello there, Weasley. I almost didn't see you there, floating on your pontificating cloud high above us lesser mortals…"

Rose opened her mouth to speak in fury when her cousin diplomatically stepped in between them.

"You two are using too large of words for so early in the morning," Albus yawned, placing a placating hand on Rose's arm. "Anyways I'm starving. Why don't we go get a table? I'll catch you later, Scorpius so we can listen to the game tonight on your W ireless."

"Freeloader," Scorpius replied, and though the affection in his tone was clear to Albus, Rose's frown intensified.

"I can't believe your friends with him!" Rose exploded as Albus led her away.

"He seems like a prat," Clair agreed as she slowly worked the sugar out of Albus' locks.

"He's really not though," Albus claimed with an air of having had this conversation many times before. "You just have to get to know him is all."

"I don't want to have anything to do with him, thank you very much, now can we please just move on from this?"

"_Where the hell is this mentality five years from here?" Ron demanded so loudly Hermione automatically shushed him fearing the children would hear. Ron was about to point out the fact that they were in a memory when the gold smoke engulfed them, carrying them a way to a new scene._

"That was a fascinating Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, don't you think?" Rose inquired happily as she and Albus made their way up the hills towards the castle. "I love how Professor Cattermole teams up with Hagrid so we can see more of the creatures!"

"I expect that's how Hagrid reasons he can keep a kappa in his pond," Albus grinned. "Educational purposes."

Rose laughed, happy to be rid of her irritation from the morning. While she hated that Albus insisted on keeping company with the Malfoy she didn't want it to interfere with their relationship. Besides, a fun assignment always put her in a good mood.

"So what dangerous creature are you going to write about?" Rose inquired.

"I dunno…a unicorn I expect," Albus replied, getting his inspiration as they passed by the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"A unicorn?" Rose gasped in disbelief. "They're not dangerous at all!"

"Sure they are!" Albus shrugged, "You kill one you're cursed. Drink their blood you turn into a zombie. Plus their horns are nothing to sneeze at. James nearly poked my eye out with one in Diagon Alley last year."

"The point of this assignment is to focus in on something really dangerous," Rose pressed, "You'd just be picking a unicorn because of common knowledge!"

"Of course I am," Albus laughed as he jumped up on the ledge of the staircase. "School is like riding a broom, it's all about balance. I have a Quidditch game next week so I'll write my assignments with the intent of getting Acceptables. Knowing that I made sure my last round of assignments were either O's or E's. By the end of the term I should just squeak by with the bare minimum to Exceed Expectations, thus keeping the parents happy right around summer and Quidditch Camp."

"If you spent half the time on your school work as you did on your ridiculous schemes you'd be an Outstanding student," Rose stated.

"But a Troll of a Quidditch player," Albus grinned. "And what about you, then? What dangerous creature are you going to expose? Nifflers and how they can sniff you to death with their cuteness?"

"Don't be silly. Nifflers are only dangerous when you don't empty out your pockets first. No, I'm going to write about the Glumbumbles," she stated proudly.

"Those little fuzzy bees?" Albus asked in wonder.

"Yes. There has been a massive influx of them in the cities since the forests have been getting cut down. They nest in buildings and have been stinging more and more people, infecting them with depression. There was even a case of someone taking their own life! It's a serious but extremely recent problem. Not too much has been written on them."

"Then how do you expect to write a whole paper?" Albus inquired.

"Don't be ridiculous, of course the Library will have books on them," Rose replied as though personally offended that Albus would question this.

"Right, well I'm off to Quidditch practice. Want to watch me play?"

"No, I'm going straight to the Library for research. I just found the most perfect table and I want to get to it before anyone else does."

"Right…" Albus repeated, looking at his cousin with a worried look for her health. "Well have fun. Pick me up a book for my topic while you're in there?"

"With what you told me I might as well pick you up a coloring book for all you plan to write," Rose joked.

"As long as it's got unicorns. A couple of rainbows couldn't hurt too, in case a Glumbumble stings me and I need some cheering up."

Rose laughed as they parted ways, quickly making her way to the library. When she got there it was fairly deserted and she made a bee line to her choice table. She sighed in pleasure when she found it empty.

It really was the perfect spot. It was set away from the main group of tables in a fairly unused area, far away from the gum chewers and people who turned their pages unnecessarily loud. A small window near it gave a little extra light for reading and a charming view for a quick distraction. Its chairs were comfortable and no matter how furiously she wrote the table did not sway. It was her oasis away from the noise that filtered throughout the rest of the castle.

She placed her bag on top of the table as if staking in her flag before settling in. She meticulously set out her belongings: quill, rubric, parchment, water flask, all in their correct order. The sun shone merrily through the window, giving her warmth and light without a glare. If she had been a cat she would have purred.

"What are you doing?" A snide voice demanded, instantly killing off all of Rose's happiness. She turned quickly to see a most unwelcomed sight.

"I'm studying, Malfoy. Surely even you could deduce that," she spat.

"You're sitting at my table," he snapped territorially.

"You're table! How…"

"Yes, _my_ table. I've sat here nearly every day since last term," he interrupted through clenched teeth.

"Well not today!" she exclaimed, a part of her oasis perishing as she realized it was tarnished with Malfoy. "It is first come first served and I was first!"

"It's my table!" Malfoy repeated childishly.

"I don't see your name on it!" she barked back in what was not her finest moment of maturity. Malfoy merely pointed to the edge of the table right by her stomach. She looked down to see "SHM" carved into the otherwise immaculate wood.

"That's defacement of school property," she sniffed. "I'm no longer interested in talking to you. Go find some other way to be annoying."

Scorpius stared at her, his aqua eyes burning with dislike. That was all well and fine to Rose, as she stared back at him with equal measure. It was what happened next that caused her to stiffen in a shudder. For just a brief moment, half a second really, she swore his eyes went blank, like his irises disappeared leaving him with glowing, pure white pupils. Her breath was stolen from her, but before either of them could blink his face was back to normal. Only now instead of anger he wore something much more dangerous. A smile.

"Fine. I think I will then."

_"What on earth was that?" Ron exclaimed. "Did anyone else see that?"_

_ "Of course we did. We were meant to. This is how this works," Ginny stated in exasperation. _

_ "That was evil, it was!" Ron countered._

_ "It was very disconcerting," Hermione agreed. "I've never seen or heard of something like that being good…"_

_ "You're forgetting though that we're seeing what Rose saw," Harry reminded. "It could have simply been a figment of her imagination. You felt how irritated she was. Minds imagine any number of things in that state."_

_ Ron snorted. He knew his best friend was coming from a good place, but nothing a Malfoy would do ever did… _

Rose sat at her desk for a few minutes, calming herself down. She hated how easily he riled her up. Almost as much as she hated him. She stayed there for a few more minutes, teetering on being anxious over losing her spot and her desire to start studying. Her drive for education finally getting the better of her she went off to the Reference area.

As she expected there were only a handful of books on the Glumbumbles and their new effects on cities. Excited once more she wrote down all six of their locations and set out to find them.

"That's odd…" she stated minutes later when she found a clean gap in the otherwise dusty shelf where her books were said to be. She scanned the shelf thoroughly to see if they had simply been misplaced but with no luck. The picture of a crying bee-keeper kept covering his eyes as if unaccustomed to light. He was of no further help asides from that as he wept too hard to talk to her.

"Excuse me, Madam Lightfoot?" Rose asked politely when finally approaching the young librarian. "I'm trying to find these books on Glumbumbles but they aren't on the shelf."

"I'm sorry, dear, but all of these were just checked out by another student. He even asked for extended checkout on them until at least the end of the month," she replied sadly, pointing to a table in the main study center. Rose did not need to turn around to know who she was pointing to.

Rose marched over to Scorpius in fury, slamming her hand down on the table when he refused to acknowledge her.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded shrewdly.

"Studying. But I figured even you could deduce that," he replied mockingly.

"Why do you have those books, I need those books!" she stated.

"Oh these?" he replied, putting his hand on the top of the stack. "I find the slight humming sound they make drowns out the noise of others. Plus I thought I'd build a fort with them or something."

"I need those for my assignment and you knew that!" she all but screamed.

"And how was I supposed to know that?" he asked coolly. Rose opened her mouth to argue but no words came out. How could he have known? The only one she had told had been Albus and they had been totally alone not fifteen minutes before.

"I don't know how, but you did! I need them to write my assignment!"

"I'm sorry, but these are first come first served and I got to them first. Now if you'll excuse me I must get back to studying."

"You pompous, arrogant little…"

"You might want to keep your voice down, Weasley. This is a library after all," Malfoy whispered with a smirk, knowing full well a frowning Madam Lightfoot was staring at them. "While you're here grab a dictionary. Pompous and arrogant mean the same thing. Enjoy your table."

Rose's neck shaded a dark red before she stormed off in anger. Every inch of her wanted to tear into him and only her respect for the sanctity of the library stopped her. She made her way back to her table, its solitude and oasis-like qualities diminishing in her state. She slammed herself in her seat as she tried calming down. The memory faded away with her furiously trying to scratch out Malfoy's initials with a loose Sickle.

_The height of the flames of the candles on the corridor's walls told Ron that it was almost curfew. Despite pass in time and the previous memory evaporating he still held the anger she harbored with him. He ignored the fact he had constantly made fun of Hermione having a favorite table in the library when they were in school. Malfoy had been a sniveling little prat. How dare he try to sabotage his little girl's assignment?_

_ "I wonder how he knew about the Glumbumbles?" Hermione asked out loud. Ron shook his head. Leave it to his wife to pinpoint such a detail._

_ "I have no idea," Harry frowned. "Maybe he was in the Forest? Or maybe he has Albus bugged?"_

_ "You're missing the point of all this," Ginny sighed. "They're not showing us things to incriminate him. They're showing us who he is."_

_ "Which is a giant, creepy prat," Ron spat._

Rose walked with a slight drag in her steps, ruining her usual perfect posture. Her bag was filled with books, all on different creatures, all of which were only half interesting. She felt defeated, so much so she could hardly be angry. Of course she could write an Outstanding paper on any of the creatures she chose, but that was not the point. She wanted to do something more than just parrot down facts she found in books. She wanted to write _something_ insightful, something new that would spark the interest of her teacher after reading essay after essay. Rose knew she was being silly, but even though she had spent her whole evening at the library she had made no further headway on her paper.

She sighed, resigning that it was best just to go to bed and try anew tomorrow when a scuffling sound stole her attention.

Four figures stood at the other end of the otherwise empty corridor. Three were tall, two clad in the Ravenclaw blue and the other she recognized as Lannister, a Gryffindor boy in Molly's year. At first she could not see who they surrounded, but she could tell just by the tense way they stood it was not a friendly gathering.

"Just what do you think you're doing with all those books on Dark creatures, Malfoy?" Lannister sneered loudly enough to carry to Rose's ears. Her heart skipped a beat at the malice in his voice.

"Trying to raise a little army of your own, hmm? Send a flock of threstals to kill off all the muggle-borns dirtying up the school?" one of the Ravenclaws demanded shifting his position so she could see Scorpius all but pinned against a suit of armor.

"Threstals aren't Dark creatures," Scorpius replied back coolly, his face placid despite the wands trained on him. "You'd know that if you actually read books instead of just picking on those who carry them."

"I'm a Ravenclaw!" the older boy proclaimed, shoving the point of his wand at Scorpius' throat.

"And I'm just trying to get back to my Common room in peace," Scorpius stated, raising both his hands in yield.

"Not so brave now, eh Malfoy?" Lannister asked with a cackle.

"He's a Malfoy. All he knows how to do is betray and snivel," the second Ravenclaw snapped.

"And which do you think he'd do if we just turned our backs on him and let him go?" Lannister inquired sinisterly. Rose's breath caught in her throat. They were about to attack Scorpius, that much was clear. Three Fifth years against an unarmed Second. It was shameful and wrong. And yet…

And yet a part of Rose couldn't help but think that Scorpius deserved it. He was a bully and he had ruined her assignment. Why should she help him?

_"Rosie," Hermione breathed quietly, her voice quivering with a mix of pity and disappointment._

_ And just like that, almost as if Rose had heard her mother's voice through the memory, Ron felt his daughter change. A wave of self-disgust washed through them at her thought, quickly replaced with resolve to do the right thing._

Rose grabbed her wand out of her pocket, her mind reeling with spells to help. Unfortuently the jet of red light that hit Scorpius did not come from her summons. She heard Scorpius hiss in pain as he fell back against the suit of armor and smelt something that hideously reminded her of burnt flesh.

"_Piertotum Locomotor__!" _she shouted. The spell did not quite take the full effect she had hoped. It was meant to bring the suit of armor to life and chase the cravens down with his sword held high. It was a complex spell however, one that despite her talent was a few years out of her grasp. It did however make the knight smack his sword broad side down on Lannister's head. The weapon dropped to the floor with a loud clang. The Ravenclaws jumped back in fear as Lannister began to cry in pain. The armor responded by quickly rasing and shooting out his arms, much like James did when he jumped out of closets to scare her and Albus.

It was a much more efficient move on the knight then it was on her cousin. The Ravenclaws screamed and ran as though their lives depended on it, Lannister crawling on his hands right behind them. Grinning at her victory, Rose ran down the corridor.

"Are you okay?" she asked when she finally reached Scorpius. Still on the floor he had to look up to see her.

"You," he stated emotionlessly. Rose gasped as she watched the blood roll down his chin from the open split on his bottom lip.

"You're…you're…"

"Fine," he replied, finishing the sentence she could not as he climbed to his feet. "I'm fine."

"Why did they attack you?" she demanded as she found herself engulfed with worry for the boy who did nothing but irritate her.

"You mean what horrible, Malfoy thing did I do that justified two Ravenclaws and one of your preciously brave Gryffindors to beat the shite out of me?" he spat as he wiped his blood off on a monogramed handkerchief. Rose hesitated. She admitted now that she _had_ been thinking that he had done something. It wasn't like Scorpius was above provoking. Yet it seemed unlikely that he had done something to merit such an attack. He was an arse to be sure, but she had never known him to be…cruel.

"I just meant…what happened?" she asked, picking up the sword and placing it back in the knight's grip in lieu of looking at him.

"I was born," he said simply. Rose was taken aback.

"Don't be…surely that's not true…"

"Wow, so I'm demon spawn and a liar," he replied coolly. "Lannister's uncle was killed by Death Eaters after he married a muggle, and the Ravenclaws…well I actually don't know their stories but I'm sure they feel justified some how."

"But none of that is your fault!" she proclaimed. "They can't hate you for what your family did!"

"You do," he stated quietly.

Rose felt like an icy blade had been slipped into her stomach. She wanted to argue, to defend herself, to shout at him and prove him wrong. But she couldn't, because he was right. Since the first day she met him she had been cold and accusing. Sure he was a prat right back, but who wouldn't be? He looked back at her with his blue green eyes. For once she saw no anger or smugness in them…only emptiness and…sorrow? She felt her own eyes sting with tears as she felt awash with shame and regret.

Scorpius looked away, blushing and fidgeting uncomfortably.

"Here," he said, offering her the clean side of his handkerchief. The gesture just made her cry harder though she struggled not to show it.

"I'm sorry," she finally replied when she found her voice strong. "I shouldn't have been so rude to you for no reason."

"I've given you plenty of reasons to be rude," he shrugged. "Besides, it's not like you've ever split my lip open. Though if looks could kill they'd probably have had to bury what was left of my body in Herbology last year."

Rose couldn't help but laugh at the small joke. One of the corners of Scorpius' lips flipped up into a half-smile. Despite it lacking completeness and the dried blood that caked his mouth she found it inexplicably warming to see. It was much better than his usual sneers and smirks anyhow.

"We'd better get going," he suggested, eyeing the sudden change in the torch flames and noting it was past curfew. He nodded and started making his way towards the dungeons. Before she turned to make her way towards the tower he stopped and faced her again.

"Thank you," he said quietly. "You didn't have to help me and I would have been fine without it but…thank you."

He turned without another word, leaving her stunned and breathless as her hands wrung his soiled handkerchief.

_Silence was all Ron heard as the gold smoke surrounded them. Silence was all he felt as he waited for the scene to assemble in front of him. He was proud of his daughter for standing up for Scorpius and defending him as he was unfairly attacked. But how often had Draco used his cronies to single someone out?_

"_Scorpius is not Draco…just as Draco is not Lucius…" Even Ron could admit that. A lifetime ago, back at the Manor, Lucius had been all too ready to sell them out to Voldermort, but Draco never verified that Harry was actually Harry. He had recognized them yet he had said nothing. Whether he was being cowardly or not depended on Ron's feelings at the time, but it had given them a chance to escape. _

_And Scorpius was different still; that was obvious. Ron had helped save his life twice but he would expect a kiss from a Goblin before Draco thanked him. _

_And he couldn't help but pity him. The boy had the misfortune of looking just like his father. It was all too easy to see how he could be picked on and bullied for his family's deeds. For that, Ron Weasley truly felt sorry._

_But a Malfoy was still a Malfoy, no matter what came out of his mouth. And that little boy who pronounced half-gratitudes to his daughter would grow up dangerous._

_And that could never be forgotten no matter how many handkerchiefs he gave. _


	7. Sugar Cubes

Sugar Cubes

_It was rare when Hermione Weasley didn't know what to think. She loved her daughter more than life itself. She would have done so no matter what, but the fact the Rosie was bright, passionate and kind pleased her to no end. Ron would often joke and say the only things he gave his daughter were his feet and the slight red tint to her hair. While it was true Rose took after her in looks and interest, she was every bit a Weasley as she was a Granger. She laughed as easily when she was happy as she grew red when mad. She was as giving as she was stubborn. And while she could be the quintessential teenage girl (honestly, locking yourself in your room for a week over a boy?) she very often showed wisdom beyond her years._

_ She was proud of her Rose for stopping those bullies from attacking Scorpius. As a mother she couldn't help but feel for the poor boy. She knew what it was to be persecuted for who your parents were. And despite the fact that Scorpius was defiant and ostentatious she couldn't help but feel him grow on her. That bit with the handkerchief was gallant in its own way…_

_ Hermione soon realized that her thoughts and feelings mirrored and intertwined directly with Rose's. They all stood in her dorm, and while her roommates gathered around a vanity chatting happily Rose lay on her bed, knees tucked to her chest as an old Harpies t-shirt stretched across them. Hermione sat by her side as she felt her daughter's conflict. Scorpius was wedged deep into her mind and she was fraught with guilt, pity and a stirring affection she almost wanted to keep. Hermione wished she could push herself out of the memory and wrap her arms around her conflicted daughter. Her hands ached to stroke her hair and give council to her fears._

_ The only problem was Hermione didn't know what she would say as she felt as conflicted as her daughter. Especially after a soft rapping at her bedside window half startled her out of her thoughts. Rose made it to the window in just enough time to see a huge Eagle Owl depart from her ledge, leaving behind a carefully wrapped stack of library books on Glumbumbles._

…

"It's just not fair," Albus glowered good-naturedly as he and Rose made their way to Care of Magical Creatures.

"It's not about being fair, it's about tradition," Rose replied with a grin, having had this kind of conversation with her cousin many times before.

"That's easy for you to say, _you're_ the oldest," Albus complained. "You'd be the one who'd inherit. I just think it would be so much better if things were passed down to the child who deserved it, not who was born first."

"So you think you deserve the Invisibility Cloak more than James?" Rose inquired, enjoying the sun on her face too much to really care about an answer.

"Yes, because he's a big git who rubs it in my face and will probably use it to haunt me," Albus grumbled, though he did a poor job at not smiling.

"I'm with you. But it gets passed down from oldest son to oldest son. I wouldn't have got it either," Rose pointed out.

"And doesn't that just bother you? Discrimination is what it is. I have half a mind…"

"That's being a bit gracious, don't you think Potter?" a haughty voice sneered next to him. Laughter surrounded them as Basileos and his Slytherin brood passed them, making sure to knock into both of them with their elbows so their books spilled to the ground.

"Well that was really what I needed today," Albus groused, picking up their books out of a mud puddle. At least Rose hoped it was mud. "But that's Care with the Slytherins for you. I'll go see if Hagrid has a rag we can borrow or something."

Albus was off before Rose could remind him that they were at school and could use magic to clean their stuff off, when her attention was stolen to the nearby stables by a soft whistle. She turned to see Scorpius standing on the wooded beam of the pen, holding out his hand as he continued to make the soothing sound.

Rose hesitated as she watched him from afar. While she hadn't seen him since the night in the corridor she'd been thinking about him constantly. She felt wrong about judging him so harshly, and while there had been more instance than not of him being a prat to her, something inside her suddenly wanted to see if there really was more to him like Albus said.

Her breath caught in her throat as a sudden rustling came from the pen. A baby hippogriff no larger than a Labrador came loping out of the bushes, intrigued by the sound. The creature stopped as the foreign scent of human reached its soft beak. It perked its head as Scorpius continued his chirps and waved his hand. Scorpius stopped to bow graciously to the animal, but soon continued to urge the creature forward by tossing what he had in his hand to the hippogriff's feet. Even from far away Rose thought she could make out what he threw.

_"Sugar cubes"_, she thought to herself, smiling inwardly. The hippogriff sniffed at his gift, squawked happily, lapped up the cube, and barely remembered to bow in return before rushing over to him. Scorpius laughed softly and held out a handful of cubes. The hippogriff dragged its scaly tongue across his palm greedily, allowing Scorpius to reach out and pet his feathered head gingerly.

Rose smiled at the sweetness of the scene, that inexplicable rush of affection for him filling her. Only this time it wasn't so inexplicable.

A loud screeching sound cut through the moment like a hex. A huge shadow filled the pen as an old and weathered hippogriff landed beside its offspring. Before Scorpius had time to move it reared on its hind legs, freeing up its taloned claws to take a swipe at his chest. Scorpius barely managed to escape, falling flat on his back as the old hippogriff continued to cry and whinny in fury.

Rose ran to him, this time without hesitation. She quickly helped him to his feet and dragged him out of harm's way.

"Bow," she muttered quietly. "Bow and let's get out of here!"

Scorpius didn't need to be told again. They both bowed to the winged creature, Scorpius literally on his knees with courtesy. The hippogriff finally found his feet, but his fierce gaze lingered on him hatefully. Rose was transfixed that such an emotion was so blatantly written on an animal's face she forgot to run. Scorpius reminded her by grabbing her arm and pulling her back towards the cabin and the rest of their class. They ran until they reached the safety of Hagrid's supervision.

"Are you okay?" Rose asked urgently when they caught their breaths.

"I think my pride is wounded more than anything else," he confessed, clutching his chest despite breathing normally. "I just… I don't know I've always liked hippogriffs, and when I heard the baby had hatched and was weaned I just wanted to…"

"You did everything right," Rose consoled. "The father was just being protective."

"He _hates_ me. And for the life of me I don't know why."

_"I can," Hermione thought to herself. Once again she couldn't help but pity this poor boy. It was bad enough he was punished by humans for his father's past deeds, but now Buckbeak…_

Rose didn't know what to say. Scorpius' pale skin blushed and he averted his aqua green eyes, embarrassed that in his adrenaline rush he had let a personal desire slip. An awkward silence covered the two of them as they struggled to find new words to say. It occurred to Rose that this was the first malice free conversation they had ever had with one another.

"_And it only took him getting threatened by a bully and a hippogriff for it to happen."_

"Your…your lip looks much better," Rose said quietly, not sure if that was the right thing to say or not. Scorpius touched his mouth and smiled.

"I used one of my mum's healing balms on it. Cleaned it right off," he replied.

Rose smiled a bit wider then she meant to as they were left with more uncomfortable quiet. Scorpius jiggled back and forth, his eyes focusing on her empty bag.

"Did you get the books I sent you?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes!" she exploded, cursing herself for forgetting something that had been filling her mind for days. "Yes, thank you. That was…erm…"

"The least I could do?" he suggested smiling slightly.

"Well, yes I suppose it was," she replied after really thinking about it. There was no room left for awkward quiet after that, as they both burst out into sheepish laughter.

"What's this now?" the teeth-gritting snide voice called again. The smile instantly vanished from Scorpius' face as Basileos made his way to them. "You making friends with weasels now, Malfoy?"

"Better weasels than a rat snake," Scorpius spat, taking a marked step to stand between Rose and his Housemate. The fact that Scorpius thought it necessary to take such a precaution only made Rose feel nervous. "Either way it's none of your concern."

"It is when you've been chatting up my twin all term," Basileos replied coldly. "If I find you've been going behind her back with a Weasley…well, I'd have to do something about that as her older brother now, wouldn't I?"

"You can keep your sister, Basil," Scorpius shrugged with a smirk. "I'm sure it'd be just like recreating what you do in front of the mirror in the dorm when you think no one's around to see."

Basileos' dark skin paled at the comment, though his black eyes soon flashed with rage.

"What the fuck did you just say to me?" he demanded sinisterly.

"Hey, over there! Cornish Pixies! Let's say we have a look?"

Rose was pulled away from the row by a speedy Albus, dragging her over to Hagrid who was fumbling through crumbled and stain bits of parchment for his day's lesson plan.

"Are you mental?" Albus asked when they were out of ear shot of the Slytherins. "That Basileos is bad news."

"You didn't have to tell me that!" Rose exclaimed. "I was just…"

Rose paused as she watched Scorpius sulk away from Zabini and stand alone on the outskirts of class. Hagrid's voice boomed across the yard as he finally got himself together, but she hardly paid any mind as he explained the differences between fairies, pixies, imps and doxies. For some reason all she wanted to do was catch Scorpius' eye and see if he was okay. The Slytherin however kept his stony gaze straight ahead, unflinching and unsmiling.

…

_"See, even Buckbeak knows better than to trust him," Ron spat stubbornly as the gold smoke wiped away Hagrid's hut. Hermione could only sigh. She knew her husband would do his best to find the negative in each Memory. Which she supposed was a good thing_. _It seemed Ginny had made it her mantle to at least try and give the boy a chance and Harry was mostly keeping his opinion to himself. Hermione still didn't know what to think. She felt her daughter's emotion, and even though underdeveloped and undiscovered she could feel the beginnings of attraction towards Scorpius. It was much the same as she had first felt towards Ron. She had thought him a stubborn prat at first, and he constantly infuriated her with their arguments. But as the years wore on she came to cherish the passion she felt for him, good and bad. Though Ron was never one to be complicated, there were still parts to him Hermione was still discovering. And despite his cool demeanor Scorpius was already proving to have a softer side…_

_ It was so easy to confuse the boy with his father. Indeed, throughout the Memories she felt like she was back in school facing a First and Second Year Draco who laughed at people's misfortunes and sneered when threatened. But when she took a closer look at the face that swam in her daughter's head she realized she had made a mistake there too._

_ While the son undoubtedly looked like his father they were not carbon copies. Scorpius' face did not have the pointed features of Draco and Lucius but were firmer, with a strong nose and a square jaw. He did not strut around as he walked, but moved with quiet poise. His posture was always straight yet he almost seemed to sulk, head down so not to be noticed when he didn't want to be. But it was his eyes, she realized, that were the major difference. They were not the cold grey eyes of Draco, but a beautiful blend of green and blue. Even Hermione had to admit they were quite enchanting when he actually smiled. She found that Rose couldn't quite shake that color from her thoughts…_

…

"Enough is enough", Rose said to herself as she took a deep breath. She was tired of feeling bad, tired of wondering. For nearly a week she had spent her free time thinking about what had come to pass with Scorpius, and for that same amount of time he had been avoiding her gaze. Funny how less than a fortnight ago she would have thought that a blessing.

Taking another breath she steadied herself and stepped out from behind the bookshelf at just the right moment. Scorpius seemed startled at her sudden appearance, and pulled his book bag back to his chest.

"You can have the table," he muttered, shaking his head and turning away.

"Wait!" she called out, cursing inwardly at her plan already falling apart. Scorpius stopped slowly, staring at her as if trying to decipher her ploy.

"You don't have to go," she replied simply. Scorpius cocked an eyebrow.

"I really don't feel like fighting over a study space," he mumbled, head hanging down in spite of his straight spine.

"Last time I checked there was more than one side to a table," she grinned, taking a seat and kicking out the chair nearest him. Scorpius frowned and narrowed his eyes.

"I don't really like to talk when I study either," he replied, though his gaze did linger on the chair for a moment.

"Then I'll be in good company," she said cheerfully. When he remained quiet she rolled her eyes and kicked the chair out further. "I promise I won't bite you."

This earned her a smile and after another pause he slowly accepted the chair. Without a word he pulled out half a dozen books from his bag. Some were the same texts she had next to her, including the optional extended reading on grindylows Professor Cattermole had suggested.

"I got top marks on my Glumbumbles essay," she stated proudly as she watched him lay out his things meticulously.

"You expecting a cookie?" he asked sardonically, though his lips curved up slightly in a grin.

"No, but I'll take a sugar cube if you've got one," she replied quickly. Scorpius laughed silently and pulled out a velvet pouch from his pocket. He untied the string and tossed the pouch so it lay between them. Rose happily grabbed a few and placed them next to her water.

"I'd be wary of eating too many of those," he said coolly as he read over his notes. "They'll rot your teeth and ruin your…fair…complexion."

It was Rose's turn to narrow her eyes. She scooped up the cubes and tossed them into her mouth, crunching loudly as she smiled.

"My grandparents are dentists," she shrugged. "And I hear someone's Mummy makes an excellent healing balm that cures acne without the need for Mandrakes."

"Well then by all means, help yourself," he grinned. "And I thank you for the raise in my allowance."

They both laughed and went about their studies, Scorpius focusing on Charms while she touched up her Transfiguration essay. She was pleased to find he turned the pages of his book silently, and nearly smiled when he grabbed his own bottle of water out of his bag.

_Albus always made fun of me for wanting to stay hydrated as I studied_, she thought. She tried to focus on her paper, but she couldn't help but glance up at Scorpius from time to time. It was almost pleasant having him there. Despite his bar on talking they chatted sparsely. He offered up his Potion notes for her to browse through as she studied for their upcoming exam. His penmanship was impressive and his notes even more so. They clarified a few aspects she had been hazy on. She on the other hand helped him perfect his technique with a featherless quill as he practiced the new spell they had learned in Charms.

"Your hand's a bit lazy," she noticed as he flicked his wrist.

"It's had a long day," he quipped back.

"Sharper movements," she answered. "Here, like this."

Without thinking she placed her hand over his to guide him in the right motion. It took her a moment to realize what she'd done. At first she only thought of the correct movement…and how warm his skin felt on hers…

She pulled away sheepishly, looking down at the table in embarrassment. She placed her hand down to shuffle her stack of parchment but her sweaty palms caused a sheet to slip out from under her. She gasped as a gust of wind caught the paper and threatened to carry it out the open window.

"_Aresto Momentum!"_

And just like that the parchment stopped in midair. Stunned, Rose grabbed it before turning around to see Scorpius with his wand held out.

"See…all you had to do was tighten your wrist," Rose replied in what she hoped was a strong voice.

"Or maybe I just need a pretty girl to show me the way rather than an old dwarf," he shrugged with a dashing smile.

Though her cheeks blushed slightly at the comment she felt her nerves disappear.

"Such flattery may work on the girls in your Common Room, but I have no interest in it," she scowled.

"And what does interest you?" he asked plainly, the soppiness vanishing from his voice. "Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?"

Rose grew more flustered at his question. She had spent a week thinking about him, worrying about him, and for what? For him to be a jerk to her? Clearly she had built something up in her head that wasn't really there.

"Why do you care?" she demanded, quickly growing defensive.

"People's motives interest me," he shrugged. "Especially yours."

"And people need hidden motives to be nice?" she cried, feeling more idiotic the longer she sat there.

"A year ago I would have said yes," he replied, his gaze moving from her over to the window. Something about the sky made him smile. "But now, well I suppose it matters who the person is. When they come from good stock like you it's usually because you want to be a genuinely decent person."

This flattery took her aback, causing her to grow silent.

"Albus is always telling me to be nice to you. That you're his best friend and the best person he knows," he said slowly, finally returning his gaze to her. Rose continued to maintain her stunned silence as she struggled for words.

"But then again he seems to think Puddlemore's got a shot against Ireland, so who knows what of his to believe," he finished smugly, giving her a smirk. It was then that Rose realized that all those haughty faces he made, especially those towards Albus, were done in jest. That truth made him a much more agreeable person.

"Albus says the same thing about you, you know," she said quietly. Scorpius' smirk faded slightly, and though his smile grew a bit sad it was also genuine.

"But as you said, who knows what of his to believe," she grinned, focusing back on her notes. "Especially over someone who's convinced their such a charmer."

"Ah, you're right. I shouldn't have been like that," he replied, his smirk returning. "I'm sorry I ever called you pretty."

"And I'm sorry I ever touched you," she returned just as snappishly. They held each other's eyes again, grinning in spite of themselves before returning back to their studies. Rose actually started to feel good for the first time as far as Scorpius was concerned, when suddenly she remembered one more thing.

"I didn't get you in trouble with Basileos, did I?" she asked tentatively, remembering the scathing and malicious way he had been staring at Scorpius.

"I can handle Basileos," he shrugged. "Don't worry about that."

"I thought the two of you were friends," she continued. Scorpius shrugged again.

"We are sometimes," he stated. "When there is nothing better to do."

"Sometimes?" she repeated, not quite understanding what he meant.

"Sure. I mean Quidditch practice lasts only so long and the Library closes eventually. Sometimes there's only the Common Room and the gentle pleasure of my fellow Slytherins," he answered, bitterness traced within his voice.

Rose said nothing, but when she returned her focus to her paper her mind was far from the side-effects of the Hair-Raising potion. She thought about the Slytherins she knew. Asides from Scorpius, none of them seemed to have even a shred of pleasantness. They hardly seemed to like each other, let alone an outsider. She thought about her friends in her House and how she felt safe and welcome in her Common Room. Then she thought about the way Basileos looked at Scorpius, and how he jumped on him for even _talking_ to her.

And then she thought about what her parents had told her about the Malfoys. They had sold out their fellow wizards to Voldermort, causing all those on the opposing side to hate them…

…until the last minute, when Scorpius' grandparents betrayed the Dark Lord to save their son. If it hadn't been for that her uncle would have died, her parents and the rest of her family as well. Voldermort might still be in power…and most of the Pureblood Slytherins as well…

And with that thought her twelve year old world got a bit bigger. She watched with a sting of sadness as Scorpius lazily flipped through his book. Her world wanted nothing to do with him and his family, and yet neither did his fellow Slytherins. His family was seen as traitors from both sides…

And he had absolutely nothing to do with that. No more than she had for her parents triumphs so many people liked her for.

_"I'd probably act a prat and push people away too if I were him,"_ she thought. _"I probably wouldn't trust anybody…"_

"I can feel you staring at me," he said clearly, his eyes never waning from his book. Rose straightened out.

"Don't be ridiculous," she stated, shuffling the pages of her parchment. The torches in the library began to flicker on and off, growing dimmer as they did to signal to the students it was near closing time. Rose and Scorpius both quietly packed their things and headed out together.

They walked in silence, heading along the main corridor as students from all Houses walked to their dorms. Up ahead she could see people splintering off. Gryffindors and Ravenclaws up the stairs to their towers, Hufflepuffs to their quarters down by the kitchens, leaving only the Slytherins to walk past down a stone corridor towards the stairway to their dungeons. A long, dark stone corridor where any number of people could lurk any number of places…

Her decision was made for her. She didn't even look up at the staircase as she continued to walk with Scorpius down the empty hall.

"What are you doing?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"The staircase is always so crowded," she replied. "There's a perfectly lovely passage to the Tower just down this hall."

Scorpius frowned and was about to rebut her statement when they passed a group of Fifth years from mixed houses leaning against the stone pillars. Upon spying Scorpius they immediately straightened up, one even walking towards him when another pulled them back, pointing at Rose. The two kept their pace and the group of Fifth years made no more movements, but she was more than happy to turn the corner none the less.

"You don't have to walk me to my dorm," he spat. "I can take care of myself."

Rose was about to counter by bringing up the bullies and the hippogriff, but instead she held her tongue.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she answered airily. "This is me."

She stopped at a faded tapestry of a hunchbacked witch with an ugly face and even uglier sword. While the passage behind her didn't directly take her to her tower, it wasn't too far from the truth. She turned to face him, smiling brightly. He in turn continued to frown, as though still unable to figure her out.

She grinned harder at the thought.

"Well, it's been fun, Weasley," he finally said, pulling back the tapestry for her.

"Right back at you, Malfoy," she replied coolly. "Try not to get mauled by any hippogriffs without me."

"Oh yeah? Well you try not to…to…dammit!"

Rose laughed as she ran up the stairs, reeling at having tarnished his usual silver tongue as she made her way home.

…

_As the scene faded Hermione smiled. She paid little mind to Ron and Ginny bickering like siblings over whether or not Scorpius was being rude. Instead she focused on the fact that she finally felt certain about one thing._

_ She was extremely proud of her little girl._

…

"See, I told you he was alright once you got to know him," Albus beamed as they walked out of the Great Hall from dinner.

"I suppose… I mean I think he might be alright, but it's kind of hard to tell," Rose replied. She had to admit she did enjoy being around Scorpius, snide remarks and all, but since the library he hadn't shown any interest in her. Granted it had only been a few days and every time she had seen him he had been surrounded by other Slytherins. The last thing she wanted was to create another conflict, especially after she had begun to realize how complicated things must be for him. But still there was something about him that just left her wanting…more.

She tried brushing that thought off as she waved good-bye to Albus as he went off to Quidditch. Clair joined her side and chatted happily enough about the upcoming weekend. Rose shook herself out of her head and tried to engage with her friend. But just as she thought him out of her head she spotted him. He and the other Slytherins in his year were blocking the entrance to the courtyard, her and Clair's destination. Basileos said something boisterous that cause both he and Scorpius to laugh and slap each other on the back. Rose frowned.

"Guess there's nothing better to do," she muttered in annoyance.

"What's that?" Clair asked.

"Nothing. Let's just go around them," she stated. But when they finally made it the long way around they found the yard infested with Slytherins. Rose scowled.

"Lucy and Tim are out by the lake," Clair suggested hopefully.

"You go," she sighed. "I think I'll just head back to the Common Room."

The two said their good-byes as Rose sulked back to the Tower, wondering not for the first time whether she should rethink her judgment of character.

"Hey there, Weasley," a sudden voice to her left called, causing her to jump.

"Merlin, Scorpius!" she shouted, more angered than she care to admit at seeing his smirking face after being ignored in the corridor.

"Well I feel very happy to be seen, Weasley," he grinned, seemingly amused by her startle.

"I'm not in the mood for your asinine games, Scorpius," she spat irately, continuing her march. Malfoy's smile faltered.

"Fine. I just thought you might want this," he replied curtly, pulling a stoppered vile out of his pocket. Rose took it and nearly gaged when she saw it filled with dead and repulsive smelling bugs.

"Gross!" she yelled. "What are you trying to play at? Get those filthy things out of my face."

"Those filthy things were crawling all over your Herbology project in the Greenhouse today," he answered stiffly. Rose had started to walk off but stopped in her tracks.

"Oh no!" she groaned. "I was supposed to go back and de-pest it today! I completely forgot!"

"I noticed," he answered emotionlessly. "I just so happened to have enough pesticide left and took care of it for you. Your plant is fine."

It then seemed Scorpius' turn to walk off in a huff. Rose watched him go, as confused and perplexed at him than ever. Just when she thought they were getting along he ignored her, and just when she was starting to hate him he saved her Herbology grade.

"Thank you," she called out to him before he turned the corner. "That…that was really nice of you."

"What can I say?" he shrugged. "I'm a nice person."

And with that he walked off, leaving her to shake her head, more confused than ever.

"Hey Rose!" Scorpius called out to her again. Rose turned in just enough time to see a white object sailing towards her face. She held out her hand and barely caught the sugar cube.

"Heads up," he grinned to her, disappearing before she could rebuff him. After a moment Rose started to laugh, popping the treat in her mouth as she did.

_Maybe it's not all that complicated after all,_ she thought with a happy crunch.


	8. The Art of Brotherhood

The Art of Brotherhood

_"This is all well and good," Ron stated, folding his arms after clearing away the golden smoke, "but none of this is what really matters. Scorpius is a Z-head and I'm not going to feel bad and let Rosie date him just because a couple of bullies picked on him."_

_ Ginny sighed at her brother. He always did have an incredibly thick head. _

_ "From the sound of it Scorpius didn't start using Z until his Sixth year," she pointed out._

_ "Well let's get to that bit then," Ron argued. "That's what counts after all."_

_ "Really? So if Scorpius had been a model student you would be perfectly happy to let Rose date him?" Ginny asked, sticking out her hip as the dungeons started to take shape around them._

_ "No," Ron replied staunchly, "he just made my life easier by being a drug addict."_

_ "Look, all this is just as important as finding out what happened when and after he was on Z. They're trying to show us the kind of person he is, and why despite his downfall they still care for him," she explained._

_ "Why are you defending him so hard?" Ron demanded, looking at his sister as if she had gone rogue. Ginny fumed but held her tongue. She knew Ron was scared. He didn't want anything bad to happen to his child, she more than understood that…_

_ And yet she felt like she knew where Rose was coming from too. The stirrings of unexplainable emotion brought on by a boy so early on in life, spending far too much time thinking about them despite hardly any interaction? _

_Oh yeah, she definitely understood how that felt. _

_Her hand immediately went to Harry's, and though he seemed lost in thought he reciprocated warmly, pulling her to him instinctively. His strong arms and familiar smell instantly soothed her. She brought to mind what it had been like her last few years at school. During her Fourth year nearly everyone thought Harry mad, some even believed he had killed Cedric Diggory to get to the cup and that he was using Voldermort as cover. During her Sixth year many students felt like Harry had abandoned them, like he had brought the Dark Lord upon them and ran off to save his own skin. While some rallied behind his name, neutral students began to despise him as the year wore on._

"_I just think we owe it to Rose to give him a chance."_

_Ginny didn't often cry. Having six older brothers did that to a girl. Yet despite such restraint she couldn't help the little crack in her voice as she thought about being in love with someone so many people were against. Even Ronald with his thick head couldn't fail to notice that slip in emotion. His ears burned red as he turned to face the two newcomers walking hesitantly down the ill-lit dungeon corridor._

…

"Are you sure this is the right way, Hugo?" Lily asked, running her hands through her dark auburn hair nervously.

"Erm…I'm sure this is the way James told us to go after Potions," Hugo admitted sheepishly, "At least I think it is…"

Only now, down in the dark, alone with his cousin, Hugo wasn't sure. In fact this week he was the most unsure of things as he had ever been in his life. He had waited ages to go to Hogwarts. Ever since he could remember cousin after cousin went to school and returned for the holidays regaling the wicked awesomeness of it all. All his sister could ever talk about was how exciting every moment was. And he should be excited. He had a _wand_ for Merlin's sake. A wand that could blow stuff up and sneak cookies behind a parent's back and turn your hair blue and any other cool thing he had always heard of and always wanted to be able to do.

Except his wand didn't seem to want to do much. It sparked here and there, and once he got a piece of toast to smoke, but that was about it. He was the only one in Charms who couldn't get their feather to float, and he was so put out in Transfiguration when his match didn't turn into a needle he got bored and (somehow) set his parchment on fire. He hadn't even made it his first week in school and he already had a detention.

"At least Uncle George will be proud," Lily suggested kindly. His sister, on the other hand, was not as amused. Her lecture still rang in his ears when he closed his eyes.

"Hugo, I think we're walking in circles," Lily stated, eyeing a distinct looking statue of a large serpent devouring the remains of a lion.

"He wrote down the directions," Hugo replied, suddenly remembering. He pulled out the wadded bit of parchment out of his pocket. "James said to just keep going right until we hit the suit of armor that took an arrow to the knee and then go left until we find the staircase."

Lily stopped and stared at him, giving him what he knew all too well was The Look.

The Look was given to him when he did or said something stupid. He noticed The Look for the first time on his mother's face when she caught him trying to walk on his hands after Freddy had told him it would cure his headache. He had explained to her that his head hurt because there wasn't enough blood flow and his cousin told him walking upside-down would allow gravity to take over and cure it naturally. That had to be true, he told his mother as she un-tangled him from their ficus. It had science in it.

His sister had given it to him this morning when he had asked if it was possible to swim under the continents. It made sense to him that you could. There was water on every side. Maybe not a big one like Asia, but surely a trained professional with a large supply of Gillyweed could tackle Australia or Sweden.

His defense of his question had given him The Double Look, which was when the already half bemused, half sad, half infuriated stare doubled in strength. It looked to him like Lily was struggling not to give him that now.

"Hugo, if we keep going right won't we eventually just be going around in circles?" she reasoned. "And even if we did find this suit of armor, turned around and went left, wouldn't we just be going in circles but the other way?"

"I…I thought…well this is Hogwarts, the stairs move I thought maybe the corridors…"

But the truth was he hadn't thought. He had just accepted James' advice. And why shouldn't he? James was his cousin, Lily's older brother, why shouldn't he trust him?

"Did James give you the directions before or after you burnt his toast and almost blew up his eggs?" Lily inquired, her patience stretching thin as one of the torches in the deserted hall blew out.

"Uh, before…maybe?"

Hugo couldn't remember. By the way Lily's face began to fall he got to thinking it was probably after.

"We're lost in the dungeons," she said quietly, her voice quivering slightly. Hugo felt dreadful. It was okay when he did something foolish and it made people laugh. His dad would often bark in glee and tousle his curly rusted brown hair. Hugo liked it when that happened. But now they were lost, and worse, Lily was scared, and it was all because he couldn't use his wand and because he couldn't pay attention.

"_Maybe they made a mistake,"_ he thought miserably. _"Maybe I'm really a Squibb but since I'm a Weasley they didn't bother testing me…"_

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

A cold icy voice cut through the silent corridor, followed by a round of high pitched cackles. A slender blonde Slytherin stepped out of the shadows, soon followed by two moss covered gargoyles Hugo eventually realized were his fat cronies. The blonde's teeth were whiter than Hugo had ever seen in real life, and each cap seemed to end with a sharp point.

"Looks to me like we got a couple of lost little cubs, doesn't it Baldwick?" the blonde asked the fatter of the two.

"It sure does, Fabian," the smaller one replied with a shrieking laugh. Baldwick seemed only capable of grunting.

"Do you know what we do to lost little lion cubs when they wander on to Slytherin territory?" Fabian asked, smiling mincingly so Hugo could see every point to his teeth. Hugo was about to ask just what they did to lost little lion cubs when they wandered on to Slytherin territory when he was silenced by Lily's hand gripping his arm. Lily was frightened, and if he had had any brains he probably would have been too.

"We're just trying to get back to the Great Hall," Hugo replied, unable to come up with anything but the truth. He did his best to smile. His mum always said to smile when you first met people.

"You're a Weasley, aren't you?" Fabian inquired, his face flickering for a moment before returning to his sly smirk.

"Yes, I'm Hugo," he answered lightly, still clinging to hope that being friendly would work, almost as hard as Lily clung to his arm.

"Then she must be the Potter girl," Fabian said coolly, his eyes flickering up and down her willowy frame. "You know, Murrain, for having such ugly brothers this one's not half bad looking."

Lily took a step back, and even Hugo recognized despite Fabian's smile the words were not a compliment.

"I think we better just get going," Lily proclaimed, holding her breath as she spoke.

"Now, now, sweetling, you have nothing to fear from us, if you cooperate that is," Fabian oozed, grinning as he stroked her face.

"Don't you touch her!" Hugo shouted instantly, doing his best to step between them. The blonde Slytherin only laughed.

"And what do you plan to do to stop me, little Weasel?" Fabian asked, securing his grip around Lily's arm.

"_Pro..Protego!" _Hugo fumbled, holding out his wand. A puff of white smoke came out the wrong end of his wand as a burst of energy traveled through his arm. Hugo was kicked off his feet and sent flying backwards.

As the Slytherins howled with laughter at his clumsy attempt at spellwork, Hugo could at least take solace in the fact that Lily had also been flung back when he collided with her, ripping her out of Fabian's grip. He had a feeling though that wouldn't last for long.

"Ickle Weasley can't do magic!" Fabian shouted in glee, his pointed teeth shining as he came closer. "Why don't I teach you how to do it properly?"

Hugo closed his eyes and did his best to cover Lily as Fabian pulled out his wand.

"_Protego!"_

Hugo was startled when he heard three distinct _thumps_ from above him. He opened his eyes to see Fabian, Baldwick and Murrain all clutching their heads as a bright transparent blue wall sparked and disappeared from in front of them.

"What's all this then?" a calm voice inquired from behind. Hugo turned around to see another blonde Slytherin sauntering up from behind them, his wand held loosely but visibly at his side. Hugo frowned as he tried to remember him. He knew he was supposed to be someone he should know, but he could only place him from this morning during the customary "Moment of Silence" that occurred every Friday during breakfast. As the Hall had been deathly quiet the new Slytherin had barked out a curt laugh as he read something at his table. Headmistress McGonagall had not looked happy.

"Malfoy…what are you doing here?" Fabian asked, struggling to keep his smile.

"I could ask the same of you," the Malfoy stated, and something in his eyes flickered with recognition as he studied Hugo and Lily's faces.

"We were just making some new friends," Fabian replied smoothly. "Showing them around their new school and all."

"Honestly Fabian, don't you think it's a bit sad that Sixth years feel the need to consort with the little First years?" Malfoy asked, stepping between Hugo and Lily without a glance so he could face his fellow Slytherins. "I mean, I know you fancy Molly Weasley, but I hardly think you'll get under her skirt by "befriending" her little cousins."

Fabian's pale skin flushed visibly at Malfoy's comment, and he struggled for his words.

"They were hanging around near the Common Room," Fabian argued, his head flickering to the wall behind them. "We were just protecting our territory."

"And now they know exactly where it's located," Malfoy drawled fiercely. "So why don't you three slither along and let me deal with these intruders."

Hugo prayed that the three Slytherins would take heed to Malfoy's request. He'd much rather have Malfoy contend with them then those three. Unfortuently whatever hold Malfoy had on his Housemates seemed to waver with this demand. Fabian settled back into another smirk and Murrain muttered something under his breath that sounded like "Lion Lover".

"Why does that not surprise me, Malfoy?" Fabian laughed. "How about you tell us exactly how you plan to deal with them? Knit them sweaters and help them with their Potions homework?"

"How about I write a letter to my father and tell him how uncooperative you've been with me?" Malfoy asked shortly. "I'm sure that would put a damper on you returning as a summer intern at his firm, Fabian. And I do believe your father is vying for a promotion, isn't that right Murrain? A pity it has to happen at around this time…"

Murrain's high pitched laugh died instantly. He looked over to Fabian frantically, nudging his shoulder with a worried look.

"That won't be necessary," Fabian replied diplomatically, "the cubs are all yours."

"That's very kind of you," Malfoy bowed, his gaze holding fast on the three of them until they walked away. As soon as they had gone he rounded back to Hugo and his cousin.

"You alright?" he asked, his voice dropping its harsh tone as he pulled Lily to her feet.

"Yes, thank you," Lily said, her cheeks growing rosy as she touched his hand. Hugo waited to be helped up too, but then remembered he was supposed to be a man. He stood up on his own.

"You're Scorpius Malfoy, aren't you?" Lily asked breathlessly. Hugo was taken aback. He hadn't been paying attention to his name, only the fact that he was actually helping him. But now as he looked at him he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed. His bedtime stories had been full of his family's dealings with the Malfoys.

"The one and only," Scorpius grinned.

"Wait, isn't your family and our family supposed to hate each other?" Hugo blurted out to Lily's visible horror.

"You know, I've been telling myself that for the past two years," Scorpius responded dryly. "Come on, let me get you two out of here before anyone whose fathers don't work for mine show up. Here, you can carry my books, seeing as you owe me a blood debt for saving your lives."

Hugo furrowed his face until Malfoy shoved a bag into his arms. He stood staring at it for a moment until he realized Scorpius and his cousin were already half way down the corridor, Lily captivated by the Slytherin's every word.

"Wait! Wait for me!"

…

"_I'm going to kill those Slytherins!" Harry fumed loudly. "What were their names? Fabian, Baldwick and Murrain? The absolute first thing I do when we're done here is go down do the Ministry and lock them all up. The keeper of Azkaban owes me about a million favors and won't ask any questions…"_

"_Harry, calm down," Ginny urged, stroking her husband's arm lightly, "that was almost four years ago, and look! Scorpius saved them."_

"_You think I care about that right now?" he demanded wildly. "Do you have any idea what those boys could have done to her?"_

"_Actually that was a pretty mild interaction for a girl walking unprotected in the dungeons," Ginny stated before she thought about it. Harry's eyes widened in disbelief. Ron too seemed shocked and stared at Hermione who fidgeted uncomfortably._

"_There was a reason why I never dawdled at the library when it was time to go to Potions," she confessed. _

"_What?" Ron exploded. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"_

"_I thought it was common knowledge," Hermione shrugged. "Besides it was almost always just talk to try and be intimidating. It was much easier to handle when you got older."_

"_Almost always just talk?" Harry repeated in ire._

"_The point is Lily and Hugo were alright," Ginny reminded softly. "And it was because of Scorpius."_

"_I'm going to kill James," Harry muttered as he found himself standing back in the library._

…

"I'm going to kill James!" Rose expressed as she hugged Lily and Hugo close. Hugo couldn't help but flush and feel like he was the one who deserved the threats. Scorpius had led them to a nearby tapestry, one which Hugo immediately recognized as one of the many pathways to the Great Hall Rose had told him about. Scorpius insisted they continue to follow him when they reached familiar ground, leading them straight to a secluded table in the library where Rose was studying.

"I believe these belong to you," he had told her lightly as he passed them off. Rose stared at them inquisitively until Lily explained to her what had happened.

"We're alright, really," Lily urged. "Scorpius saved us."

Rose's eyes seemed to narrow at the trace of giggle in her cousin's voice as she praised him.

"You're just lucky you two were stupid enough to stop right in front of the Slytherin Common room," Scorpius shrugged, though he winced instantly at his own comment.

"Of which the location you two have immediately forgotten," he finished sternly, pointing his finger at them both.

"Done," Lily replied with a smile.

"I don't even know how we got from the Great Hall to the Library," Hugo confided honestly. Scorpius frowned, seemingly deciding on if Hugo was joking. Rose and Lily both just groaned and gave him The Look.

…

"Professor Ambrose didn't ever mention the history behind the method of creature-to-object Transfiguration in my lesson!" Rose frowned as she poured over Scorpius' notes.

"That's because you don't have it with the Ravenclaws," Scorpius scowled. "Some of them are so obnoxious and want to know everything about everything."

"I want to know everything about everything!" Rose exclaimed, adding Scorpius' descriptions to her own notes.

"Trust me," he grinned. "You're better off with Hufflepuffs."

Scorpius sent a wink in Hugo's direction before casually returning to his Divination text. Hugo grinned at the attention and watched his sister, as it was a sight better than studying for History of Magic. After his first disastrous week Rose had decided it was best if Hugo studied with her so she could help. It sounded good on parchment, but Rose studied _a lot_. Lily and Albus joined in occasionally, but Albus also had Quidditch practice and Lily had made some friends in the Charms club so they had other things to do. Rose wouldn't let Hugo _have_ other things to do until he got his schoolwork done.

Hugo sighed and returned to his notes. He wanted to do well, honestly, but he just still couldn't get his ruddy wand to work for him. He tried to concentrate in class, but as he fell further behind he started not to see the point in paying attention. It cleared up time for him to draw anyhow. That seemed to be the only thing he was good at.

The one bright side to being dragged to the library constantly was it was the only time he got to see Scorpius. Most of the time he was studying with them and he took some of Rose's attention off her brother. They were sort of funny to watch and listen to. They bickered constantly yet shared notes and brought high-protein snacks to share, and then bickered over the health benefits of almonds.

"I don't care if they're good for you, they make you fat," Scorpius proclaimed, picking the nuts out of the granola and dried cranberries.

"Well then your body will finally catch up to your head," Rose retorted. "Stop being such a girl."

"At least one of us at this table cares about appearances. Are those the only shoes you own or do they come in value-packs?"

Hugo had loved that. Rose and Molly were by far the smartest in his family, but Molly was really only book smart. Rose was witty with a sharp tongue and often went un-matched. It was awesome seeing someone who could put her in her place half the time.

"I don't know why you're so worried about your species-to-objects essay," Scorpius proclaimed, peeling his notes away from her. "You made the best teapot in our year."

"I don't understand why you don't care more!" she replied. "We're really starting to get in the thick of Transfiguration. It's only going to get more complicated!"

"I'm not worried," Scorpius shrugged.

"Why not?" she asked wildly.

"I'm rich," he stated simply. "Why do I need to worry about turning stuff into other stuff? I can just buy them both."

Hugo couldn't help the burst of laughter he released at that, though he instantly recognized his mistake. Rose was anxious for some reason, and when she was anxious she had a tendency to go crazy.

"You think that's fun…Hugo! What is _this_?"

Hugo did his best to slap his notes down, but his sister_'s _reflexes quickened when charged with lunacy, and she quickly snatched his parchment away.

"Are these your History of Magic notes?" she demanded, shuffling through the thin stack.

"Um…they were supposed to be," he admitted.

"I can't believe you, Hugo!" Rose all but shrieked. Hugo lowered in his seat as he felt the eyes from nearby students train on him. "I've been frantically trying to help you with your studies and you've been doodling pictures in class instead of paying attention?"

"Rose, keep it down a bit," Scorpius urged. "You're embarrassing him."

"He's embarrassing me!" she proclaimed for all to hear. Hugo could feel his ears and neck flush red. "How could you be so thoughtless, so _stupid_, as to do something like this?"

"I just…like drawing is all," Hugo sputtered quietly.

"Did you draw all of these in class?" Scorpius asked, looking at the notes more thoroughly. "With just your quill?"

"Yes! I tried to pay attention, and I did take notes in the margins, look!" Hugo pointed.

"Rose, you really should look at these," Scorpius stated, sliding the parchment back over to her.

"You stay out of this, Malfoy!" she demanded. "This is not your problem! And I'm done looking at your work Hugo. You go back to the Common Room and you better pray that Lily lets you use her notes. I won't have you failing History of Magic like you are everything else!"

Hugo held back frustrated tears as he hastily packed his bag, leaving half his belongings behind as he ran off.

…

For the first time in his life Hugo couldn't eat his lunch. He had too much to do even if he had been hungry. He had been up almost all night with Lily's notes working on his History of Magic essay. Molly had read over it for him and told him he had done a good job, and only corrected a few mistakes here and there. He was grateful for her help, especially as he was avoiding Rose's looks. Or she just wasn't looking at him… he wasn't a hundred percent sure.

Doing well in History was all well and good. It was boring but if he read the book out loud and tried to act out all the fighting with a willing Housemate it wasn't so bad. He had enjoyed Herbology with Uncle Neville, especially when he got to play with dragon dung and fling it at an irritated Slytherin named Tabitha Nott. Potions was cool because you didn't need a wand to blow stuff up and he liked all the weird smells.

But again all the classes that required a wand: Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Darks Arts, those he dreaded. And now he only had an hour before his first practical Charms exam, where they had to lift a stack of books on top of Professor Flitwick's desk and organize them back in his bookshelf, and he still couldn't get the bloody feather to move. He thought he had done it once, but it turned out the window was just open.

He groaned, figuring he should at least continue to try anyways when he was distracted by a low whistle. He turned to see Scorpius poking his head out of an unused classroom.

"Hey Hugo, I've got something for you," Scorpius grinned, nodding into the room.

"Really? A present?" Hugo asked, his voice lifting. But then his face fell. "I can't, I have to study."

"Fine," Scorpius shrugged nonchalantly as he shut himself in the room. "I'll just give it to someone else then."

Hugo was left alone for a moment, staring at the closed door. It only took him another to cast aside all thoughts of school as his curiosity got the better of him. He ran into the room, and was taken aback to find an easel and paint set up.

"Wicked!" Hugo shouted, running up to the set. "Is this for me?"

"It could be," Scorpius replied casually.

"What do I have to do to make it mine?" Hugo asked eagerly.

"I need someone who can repaint this."

Scorpius flicked his wand, and one of the sheets of paper on the easel fell off to reveal one that had a red squiggly line on it, the upper part flecked with paint specks.

"That's easy!" Hugo proclaimed, grabbing the thin paintbrush left out and dipping it in red.

"One catch though," Scorpius said, slithering around him like a hungry snake. "You need to paint it standing on that mark."

Hugo looked down to see an "X" painted in the floor. When he stood on top of it, it was all he could do to reach the easel.

"I can't do it," Hugo replied sadly.

"Figure it out," Scorpius answered. "If you want to keep the supplies that is."

Hugo exhaled, looking at the easel with longing. For a moment he struggled to keep his usual hold on the brush, but the tip would not reach the paper. He had to instead extend the brush and hold it from the base. He wouldn't be able to do detail in that stance, but he should be able to recreate the line. In one fluid motion he tried to copy the pattern Scorpius had shown him. While the line moved the same, it still did not look like the one Scorpius had drawn.

"Wrong!" Scorpius deemed. "Try again!"

And with a flick of his wand Hugo's first attempt was wadded up and thrown in the trash. Hugo frowned, and something in him was nagging at him that he really should go study, but he really wanted the easel. So he continued, trying stroke after stroke, all of which failed to mimic the original.

"I can't do it!" Hugo finally cried, kicking the mountain of failed attempts around his feet. Scorpius smiled and walked over to him.

"Look at the painting," he said from behind, pointing at it. "What is the first thing you notice about it?"

Hugo frowned and studied the squiggle.

"It's two different lines," he finally said.

"Good!" Scorpius praised. "Now do you think you can do that by one hasty motion?"

"No…"Hugo said, the line suddenly taking on a whole new shape. "No, it'd have to be a fluid motion, but the only way you could get the top part to make those patterns is if you splattered after the first stroke."

"Good. Now try again!" Scorpius commanded as he stepped away. Hugo stared at the original for a moment, his mind still reeling from the discussion. It wasn't just one jerky motion, it was deliberate. A steady stroke followed by a swift splat. Stroke and splat, stroke and splat, stroke and splat…

"I did it!" Hugo cried, staring at a near perfect copy of Scorpius' design.

"Good," Scorpius agreed. "But you could do better. Again."

And so he did, sheet after sheet of parchment replicating the design until Hugo didn't even have to think about it anymore. He just stroked and splat, stroked and splat, grinning the whole time…

Until the parchment ran out and the easel gently scooted to the side, revealing behind it a stool with a large feather lying on top of it.

"What…what is that?" Hugo groaned, his good feelings disappearing as his responsibilities returned.

"That? That is simply a blank piece of parchment waiting for you to paint it," Scorpius grinned.

"I don't…I don't understand," Hugo frowned, looking at the feather with despair.

"Your wand is just a paintbrush, a powerful tool for you to use, but a tool none the less," Scorpius explained. "The real magic, the real art, comes from you. Every incantation requires its own stroke, and just like the lines it needs to be precise and purposeful. Now, paint the feather."

Hugo's eyes widened at Scorpius' words. He looked at the feather nervously, and all the times he swished and flicked and got nowhere started creeping into his mind. But then he looked at the floor, not at the crumpled bits of his mistakes, but at the smooth copies of his makes that now far outnumbered the duds. He stared at the feather and saw the invisible canvas behind it, waiting for creation. Hugo held out his paintbrush and began to work.

_Stroke and splat, stroke and splat, stroke and splat…_

"Very good," Scorpius deemed. "And now with this brush."

Scorpius held out Hugo's wand and carefully replaced the brush with it. Hugo paused for only a moment, feeling the subtle differences between the two objects before returning to his movements.

_Stroke and splat, stroke and splat, stroke and splat…_

"Now, say it!" Scorpius demanded with his arms crossed. "_Wingardium Leviosa!"_

"_Wingardium Leviosa!_"Hugo shouted, with a stroke and splat of his wand.

The feather rose off the stool, gently soaring higher and higher until his excitement got the better of him and he broke his concentration.

"I did it! I did magic on purpose!" Hugo exclaimed, jumping up and down. "I'm not a Squibb! I'm not stupid!"

"Of course you're not," Scorpius responded calmly as he pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket. "Anyone who can draw a picture of the Hogwarts Express like this from memory isn't stupid. You just needed focus and direction is all."

Hugo stared at his picture of the scarlet steam engine he had seen four times a year since he could remember. It was a rather good liking of the thing, though hardly the best of his sketches. He wondered if that was Scorpius' point.

"Rose doesn't think I should be drawing," he said quietly as he turned away from his work.

"Rose doesn't know what she's talking about," Scorpius replied. "She's barmy when she's on her period. And I bet you she doesn't think you're stupid… I mean some of the stuff that comes out of your mouth is bonkers, great but bonkers, but you're not stupid."

"I just don't think I'll ever be as good as Rose," Hugo admitted, doing his best to reject Scorpius' statements.

"Rose isn't as good as Rose. Believe me," Scorpius laughed. "You'll do fine."

Any further words of encouragement were cut off as the bell to class rang. Hugo gulped hard.

"Alright, you have this," Scorpius stated firmly. "Book or feather, they're all just blank pieces of parchment. Just remember, swish and flick."

"You mean stroke and splat," Hugo corrected.

"Whatever gets you through the day," Scorpius shrugged. "Now go before your late and none of this matters."

"Right!" Hugo stated, turning to rush to class. But as he was making his way out the door a thought grabbed him. He stopped and turned to Scorpius who was sauntering casually behind him.

"Scorpius?" Hugo asked quietly. "Why do you only sit with us in the library? Why don't you ever eat with us or hang out with us all after class?"

Silence filled the classroom.

"It's complicated," Scorpius eventually answered softly, and even Hugo could hear an edge of pain to his response.

"Oh," Hugo replied, some of his good feelings disappearing. "Well, you should really think about making it uncomplicated. It'd be fun to see you more."

"I'll try to work on that," Scorpius replied, and though he rolled his eyes a bit of his smile returned.

"Brilliant!" Hugo exclaimed. "Oh, and do I still get to keep all of this stuff?"

Scorpius' smile extended into a smirk at the question.

"A Malfoy is only as good as his word," he replied calmly.

Hugo felt like he should think about that for a spell, but as the warning bell sounded he only had time to dash off to Charms before he was late.

…

"That's amazing, Hugo!" Lily proclaimed as he retold his tale. "You got top marks!"

"I know!" Hugo replied in glee. "I was almost perfect! I accidently lifted his whole desk off the ground at first, but I got that under control fast and got the books on the shelf no problem. They would have even been in alphabetical order if I had remembered that "S" followed "Q"!"

Lily laughed without any Look about her, causing him to beam. He felt remarkable about himself and was torn between running to the Owlry to write to his mother, thanking Scorpius a bazillion times, or finding Rose to rub it in her face.

His decision seemed to be made for him as he saw his sister quickly searching him out.

"Hugo!" she called. "I just talked to Flitwick. He said you did the best out of the whole class!"

"I might have," Hugo shrugged, trying to play it cool like Scorpius, though his excitement wriggled out of him eventually. He calmed when he saw the pained look in his sister's face.

"I'm so sorry, Hugo!" she exclaimed. "I had no right to treat you the way I did. I know it's no excuse but I just worry about you and want you to do well! You have so much potential and I know if you just focused… well look what I'm saying! You know what you can do. I'm so sorry and you are so not stupid. I don't know what came over me!"

"It's okay," Hugo shrugged. "Scorpius said you're always barmy when you're on your period."

Rose froze, red creeping across her face.

"Scorpius said…what? How could he…?"

"You do get a little crazy…and mean," Lily jumped in. "It's kind of obvious."

Rose's eyes all but bulged out of her skull at the comment. Hugo braced himself for more yelling, but relaxed as she seemed to breathe it out.

"Why were you talking to Scorpius about my…me?" she asked as calmly as she could. Hugo explained to her all that Scorpius had done. By the end all the anger had disappeared from her face, to be replaced with something that looked like she half wanted to cry, half wanted to smile, and half wanted to pass out.

"That's…that's amazing," Rose stuttered. "We need to go find him and thank him."

Rose, Hugo and Lily made their way to the library, but instead found Scorpius studying alone in one of the small courtyards.

"I knew you had it in you," Scorpius beamed after Hugo repeated his good news.

"Thank you so much for helping him," Rose said sincerely. "That was so ingenious and thoughtful. He's not even your brother but you've helped him far more than I did."

"The little bugger makes me laugh," Scorpius replied with a shrug. "It wouldn't do to have him expelled for poor performance. Besides, I needed the practice."

"What do you mean?" Rose asked, tilting her head to the side. Scorpius smiled into his book before pulling out a worn letter he seemed to have been using to mark his place.

"My mum wrote to me last Friday," he explained, handing her the letter. "It seems as though I'm going to have to split my infinity-pool inheritance after all."

Rose scanned the letter quickly.

"Scorpius! This says…this says your mum is going to have a baby!" she exclaimed.

"I noticed," he replied languidly, turning his glance to Hugo. "I guess I was just making sure fourteen wasn't going to be too old to learn how to be a brother for the first time."

Hugo smiled and laughed along as Rose embraced Scorpius in a hug. Scorpius continued to smile despite trying to shrug off the news. Hugo clapped him on the back and tried not to think about the fact that parents who had kids in school still did it.


	9. Intermission: Pillow Talk

Intermission: Pillow Talk

This time it _**was**_ a dark and stormy night.

Only the moon and stars shone brightly outside her open window, and the pleasant summer breeze that filtered through her room held no malicious intent of blowing anything away heavier than lawn trimmings. The storm that made the night so tumultuous was in the house; downstairs to be exact, and, as cliché and frivolous as it may sound, inside her.

Rose Weasley slouched miserably against her headboard, burying her head into her overstuffed pillow as she waited to hear her parents return from the Vivid Pensive. She wondered what memory they were engaged in. It hadn't even been half an hour since she had returned to her room but time passed differently in the Pensive. She prayed anxiously that they were still on the first memories, the good ones they intentionally padded in the beginning to show that Scorpius was a good person, that he was unlike the other members of his family, and where his love and "unique" form of loyalty to her was rivaled only by his love and "distinct" form of loyalty to Albus.

She prayed that they were still on those memories so she could yank them out of them before they hit the bad ones.

For some idiotic reason she had been inclined to show them her bad memories of Scorpius too. She rationalized that a pristine portrait of him where he was all jokes and generosity would never fly by her family. So she added some of the things he had done to her that were hard enough living through the first time. Hurtful things that he only _eventually_ apologized for, things he said he'd done due to jealousy, peer pressure, and the affliction of having a working penis.

But worst of all she had added the events of the first term of this past school year. The ones where Scorpius had come back from his summer internship at his father's London firm hooked on Z and became that awful, selfish, violent liar that people had associated all Malfoys to be. Even now she shuddered at that person who shared a body with the man she loved. It was hard to believe that even six months ago she thought she had lost her Scorpius forever to a hateful, despicable monster capable of crushing those around him with a sneer-drenched word…

Rose clutched the pillow tighter to her chest. She knew she shouldn't separate Scorpius into two people, as much as she wanted too. Not even decade-long Zulco users always acted the way he did when forced into withdraws. He had confessed to her later that that dark person was still inside him, had always been inside of him, and that his biggest fear was that he would someday give way to his baser, evil inclinations.

She instantly shot out of bed, throwing the pillow to the ground. She had to stop her parents from seeing that. After viewing how he was...what he had done to her… how could they possibly accept him? How could they when for a time she had felt so sure that she never would again? And even if they stayed around to see the amazing things he had done in repentance, viewed through her own mind and heart, how could they understand her choice to forgive him? How could they understand that it was both the hardest choice she had ever made and really no choice at all? How could they understand when she didn't understand it herself?

Adrenaline started to rush through her panicked veins. She would yank her parents away from the Pensive, fall to her knees and just sob out why she loved him. She would just _tell_ them how no one understood her like he did. How no one could make her so frustrated and angry one second and then laugh euphorically the next with just his stupid smirk. How nothing made her happier than to curl up on a couch and study with him absent-mindedly brushing her hair with his fingers. That despite some of the cowardly things he'd done in some ways he was the bravest person she knew. That's what Muggle girls did in this situation, right? They talked it out, or just ran away wildly depending on their level of emotional stability, though she doubted other teenage girls had this kind of problem with their boyfriends and family…

"Whatever it is you're thinking, don't."

Rose gasped at the familiar voice coming from her window. Scorpius gracefully filtered through the open pane, dressed in simple yet perfectly pressed dark robes. A wave of hard attraction crashed through her as she looked at him, followed by flushed cheeks as she realized she wore only an old baggy sleep shirt with a picture of kittens on it.

"Scorpius!" she stammered, her mind bursting with ranging thoughts from wanting to snog the life out of him, scream at him in horror that he had shown up, and demand he close his eyes while she made sure she had put away all of her "unmentionables".

Luckily he didn't give her much time to contemplate her options. He strode over to her quickly, looked her up in down with a playful smirk, and kissed her before she had time to grow completely self-conscious.

It was far too easy to melt into him when he kissed her like that. All her worries and anxieties fell to the ground when he scooped her up and walked them over to the bed. It had only been two weeks since they had left school and yet it felt like they had been apart for a lifetime. Her hands shot up into his hair the moment he laid them down on her mattress.

"It's longer," she stated matter-of-factly, unable to keep this thought to herself as his lips trailed down her neck.

"Merlin, I'd hate to tell you what's going through _**my**_ mind if you're just concerned about my hair," he groaned, reclaiming her lips. She didn't have to be a Seer to know where he wanted this to go. He kissed her greedily, possessively, as she imagined only a Malfoy could. Her usual inclination to remain dominate fell to the wayside as he unfastened his cloak and slid on top of her. Her blood rushed hot through her as her heart began to race. His stomach lay flat against her own, and he only pulled back enough so his hands could sift through her hair, stroke her face, run down her arms, her hips, her bare knees before they began to venture back upwards past the hem of her baggy shirt that lay pooled around her upper thighs.

"Scorpius, stop!" she breathed heavily, pushing him off half-heartedly. He rolled off her instantly, throwing his hands up as though showing he was disarmed. Rose immediately felt chilly without his warmth as reason and instilled propriety battled her innate passion. She inwardly cursed at herself as she saw the half guilty, half disappointed look on her boyfriend's face. It could have been so easy to just get carried away with him. Even with him laying right beside her she still missed him. Their future was so unsure and despite it being the first time she had had a boy in her bed (or any bed for that matter) it had felt so natural being with him. She felt raw and exposed as his eyes flickered up and down her, and in a rare moment she realized she could not read the subtle signs in his face that betrayed his thoughts to her.

"I'm sorry," he stated to her seriously.

"You have nothing…"

She was silenced again by his smirk and his kiss. With a giggle she realized he was not apologizing for what he had done, but for what he had been about to do.

"I don't want to stop," he informed her as he kissed her gently. He positioned them so she lay on her back while he kept on his side so their bodies no longer pressed together. He kept himself propped up with one arm while his other hand brushed her cheek and hair. The kisses he gave were soft and as innocent as he could possibly make them, but continue to kiss her he did. Scorpius' compromise of self-control did little to quiet her own desire. In fact having him so close but knowing they could be much closer only drove her madder.

"We have to stop," she said sadly, running her finger through his hair as he bent over her.

"No," he murmured, almost pleadingly. "Because when we stop kissing we're going to start talking, and by the look you had on your face when I came in things can't be going well."

That caused her to shoot right up. Her former predicament came rushing back to her as her hormones subsided and worry etched into her face.

"You're showing them the Vivid Pensive of me," he said in statement, not question.

"Yes," she replied guiltily.

"Even the one where I…" he struggled painfully against the sentence, but there was no need for him to clarify just what memory he spoke of.

"I was going downstairs to stop them," she explained hastily. "It still may not be too late!"

"No," he replied solidly. "They'll never be okay with us being together if you pull them out early. They'll know there was something you later decided they shouldn't see. They'll always question it, and maybe even imagine that I did something worse, though what is worse than what I did to you…"

She cupped his face, trying desperately to pull him away from his personal dark place. He gave her a smirk she knew he didn't really mean but kissed him in acceptance just the same. He sat back against her headboard, pulling her into his lap as he settled into her old space.

"You're right," she said firmly as he played with the end of her curls. "It'll be rough to get through, but it's better that they know the whole truth. That way they can see what you did after and why despite the Z and everything else I want to be with you."

Scorpius answered her with silence, his gaze transfixed on his hair-encased fingertips. In spite of sitting on top of him she knew Scorpius had left her for his own inner torments. Knowing she was in danger of losing him completely to his guilt she shook him by lightly fingering his robes. His eyes sought back to hers and she was disheartened to see they had shaded from bright aqua to a light gray.

"And you're still sure it's enough for you?" he asked quietly, his hands brushing gently down her side.

"We wouldn't be doing all of this if it weren't," she answered. When he continued to look off in distraction she grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her.

"We have enough to worry about with them," Rose pressed earnestly. "We don't need to make it harder by making up our own doubts."

At least she prayed the doubts he was harboring were made up.

That statement seemed to snap him back to attention. He laughed silently, giving her his best smirk as his hand returned to running through the bulk of her hair.

"I always hate telling you this, but you're right," he replied, his usual mix of bored confidence returning to his voice.

"Of course I am," she bantered with a grin. "We'll get through this together, you'll see. So, how'd your parents take the news?"

The small hope she had been harboring that it had gone well evaporated when his face turned dolor.

"I'm not exactly sure," he admitted, averting his eyes out of guilt once more.

"What do you mean?" she demanded, leaning back from him. "You did tell them, didn't you?"

"Yes I told them!" he replied indignantly. "I just didn't exactly hang around to see how the news stuck."

"What!? What do you mean?" she all but screamed, causing him to flinch.

"I had planned to tell them over dinner, all nice and calm like, but then my Dad and I got into this huge row over what I was going to do with my summer. I wanted to get a job on my own but he was insisting that I work with him as his assistant. He said he wasn't going to let me out of his sight for a moment and would be on me so hard he'd know what I was thinking before I did it, and hex me a new arsehole if I went against him. I got…mad…about that and just sort of blurted out that if he was such an omnipotent fucking cunt how did he not know that I was in love and dating Rose Weasley…" he trailed off quietly when he saw the look of horror on her face.

"Scorpius, you didn't!" she cringed, shocked at his lack of tact with his family and that he had used such foul language against his own father.

"I did," he admitted ashamedly. "He sucked in his breath and his eyes got all big like he was about to explode at me, but nothing came out of his mouth except this funny little squeaking noise. And then he..erm…kind of grasped at his chest a bit so I took off."

"SCORPIUS!" Rose roared, pushing herself off of him. "You need to go right back! You could have given him a heart attack!"

"My mum was right there," he argued weakly as he tried to shake off the thought.

"Scorpius you need to go back and sort all of this out!" she demanded, urging him off the bed.

"Look, if I go back it's only going to make things worse," he insisted, catching her hands with his own. "You have to trust me. In my family we yell and fight, let time pass for us to cool down, and then if it's absolutely necessary talk about it rationally after we've run out of expletives and destroyed expensive stuff. It's a Malfoy thing."

Rose wanted to argue more but knew she'd be wasting her breath. She hated when he would act a certain, cryptic way and only answer her with "it's a Malfoy thing". He made it seem like it was impossible for her to understand his family, that no matter how close they became she would always be an outsider to "their ways". It was a part of him he always kept private from her even now. It scared her to think that he would never feel like she truly belonged with him.

"Hey," he said softly, "I know I cocked it all up, but I promise I'll fix it. But trust me, I know what's best in my family, and what we need is time apart to cool off and process."

There was no use in trying to fight his logic. It was essentially the same thought she had when she came up with her cousins using the Vivid Pensive if need be. She had hoped that simply explaining things to her parents would suffice, but she imagined they might need hard convincing proof. Scorpius had not liked the idea, but he supported her staeting she knew her family best. How could she turn around and not agree with him when it came to his?

"Merlin, what a mess we've made," she muttered, rubbing her face roughly.

"But it's been worth it if for nothing else but to get to see you in your kitten pajamas," he grinned.

"Oh bugger!" she exclaimed, forgetting once again about her attire. She quickly climbed off the bed and started digging through her drawers for clothes.

"No, don't change!" he pleaded in a sap-drenched mocking tone. "I think you look good in them. Of course they'd…"

"I swear Scorpius you say "they'd look better on my floor" I will call my Dad up here and say you snuck in against my wishes," she warned, finally finding a pair of shorts and a fitted t-shirt. "Now close your eyes while I get dressed."

"Wow, it's almost like you knew that was coming. Picking up on my little "parlor trick"?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Keep them closed!" she demanded, crossing her arms and ignoring his comment.

"You can trust me," he replied, covering his eyes with his hands. "'Pious' is part my name, if you arrange the letters a bit."

"So is 'scur'," she replied, making doubly sure his eyes were averted before she flung her embarrassing garb to the ground.

"You do realize I've seen you with your shirt off before, right?" he bantered casually as he smiled below his eye-covering hands.

"Just once!" she exclaimed quickly. "And that was different and I still had my bra on…we weren't in my bedroom.

"It only takes once, it was barely still on, and an empty classroom is _**so**_ much more private than your bedroom," he smirked. "But I'm just saying now that I've seen your legs pretty much bare up to your hips I can paint the oh-so-enticing picture of you, so you might as well just let me…"

Scorpius stopped when he felt the warm tip of her wand jabbed in his throat.

"On the other hand, modesty is a virtue. As is being respectful and a proper gentleman," he added before letting an aqua eye peek playfully between his cracked fingers. He exhaled sorrowfully when he saw her standing in front of him fully clothed.

"Beautiful," he exclaimed genuinely. "Though I will miss the kittens."

She laughed as he pulled her back into his lap, more than happy to take his lewd japes over his tortured looks or her betrayed parents. He nuzzled his face into her neck, breathing deeply and moaning as her hair cascaded across his cheek.

"You're still picturing me naked, aren't you?" she asked with a hint of a giggle.

"What can I say? My cock is in well working condition, as it so longs to show you," he answered, rolling them back so they lay on the bed. "However it is content to lay dormant until you so choose to request its services."

"How gracious of it," she replied through a bit laugh.

"Oh, it is very gracious," he grinned, kissing her exposed collar bone all the way up to her neck and cheek. Scorpius then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in tightly and rocking them back and forth in a soothing motion.

"Scorpius?" Rose asked after a few minutes spent thinking about all the memories she had poured into the Vivid Pensive, all the heartbreak and torment she had once felt, and picturing her parents probable reaction to it all.

"Yes, Rose?" he answered back in a dusky voice.

"Don't leave," she requested.

The room was silent for a few moments.

"I'd like to see what would try to take me away from you," he answered.

Rose snuggled deeper into his chest, not needing to see his face to picture his arrogant, loving smirk.


	10. Drabbles: Good Memories by Minor Charact

Drabbles: Good Memories by Minor Characters

**(A/N: So I was going through an outline I had made for this story from 2010 (that's right, three years ago!) and I realized that at the rate that I have been writing lately I would probably never actually finish. I therefore have made two resolutions: one- to actually write more because I ****will**** finish this story, which leads to two- alter and shorten the story so I can get to the more exciting awesome parts I alluded to in the last chapter. That being said I absolutely loved these sub-plots and could not bring myself to leave them out. Therefore I condensed my two favorite memories into one chapter to round out "the good memories intentionally padded in the beginning" before the story starts to grow more complicated. Hope you enjoy!) **

Molly tore her attention away from her book as she heard her cousins roaring with laughter as they entered the Common Room. She narrowed her eyes as she saw they were drenched with snow and leaking on to the ancient carpet. Lucy was especially and unsurprisingly the wettest. Anxious indignation fuelled her as she went to scold her little sister. How could she be so reckless after just getting over the flu? Didn't she care that Molly had missed two study sessions with her boyfriend Desmond right before midterms so she could take care of her? Didn't she care how bad it would look to her parents if Molly presented their reckless baby back to them in worse shape than when she had gotten on the train?

Molly was about to scold, when something else entirely more distressing caught her eye.

"What is he doing here?" she demanded. The laughter died immediately. Molly was good at inciting that reaction.

James, Freddy and Albus all gave one another helpless looks. Lily seemed to be blushing deeply as she removed her hand from the abomination's elbow. Rose did her best to conceal her end of the hand knitted scarf that wrapped around and tied his wrist together. The boy himself seemed amused, as if feeling like the others had been thwarted by Molly's presence.

Her little sister merely smiled casually and pushed her sheets of red hair out of her face.

"He's our captive," Lucy informed happily. "He's being punished for being such a grouch right before Christmas."

"Bah bloody Humbug," he spat, the Pureblood surprising her with the Muggle reference. "Now can you please get me out of here?"

"Not until you stop worrying and have fun," Rose demanded, tugging playfully on his make-shift leash.

"Yeah, last year you made the weekend before we left for summer break epic with that "Hike and Dive" trip you had us do on the cliffs around the lake. You can't get all practical and solemn on us now, Malfoy!" Albus insisted.

"You all did what?" Molly exclaimed, her eyes bulging as she zeroed in on James. The grin he had been wearing immediately disappeared as her "you're-the-oldest,-why didn't-you-put-a-stop-to-this-insanity" glare bore through him.

"It was all perfectly safe…for the most part," James defended guiltily.

"Yeah! And James always says it's not real fun if you're being safe…OW!"

Hugo rubbed his head in confusion where James had punched him.

"Look you lot, I don't care what you're trying to do. He's a Slytherin and a Malfoy! He can't be in here and you shouldn't be playing with him!" Molly stated sternly, arms crossed as she reprimanded her children.

"Listen to the Head Girl, will you?" Scorpius mumbled. "It was funny at first but now I'd really just like to go."

"Scorpius you're going to be miserable all Christmas," Rose replied sadly, gently touching his arm. "The least we can do is give you a bit of fun and cheer before you go."

"And pelting me with snowballs is supposed to do that?" he demanded with a cocked eyebrow.

"It cheered me up," James grinned.

"Until Scorp and I destroyed you with our attack plan," Albus beamed.

"Yeah we did!" Scorpius regaled, the first tones of happiness filling his voice as he and Albus awkwardly "high fived" each other with their elbows.

"Wait, why do you expect him to be miserable all Christmas?" Molly asked, cutting through the squabbles as her cousins loudly argued over who really won the snowball fight. The group instantly went silent again.

"Cassie's not doing too well," Rose answered quietly, looking down at her feet.

"Who's Cassie?" Molly demanded.

"The scourge on my inheritance," Scorpius replied with little humor. Rose elbowed him in the side and mouthed his name in reproach. He sighed deeply before replying again.

"Cassiopeia Selene, my yet-to-be-born baby sister," he answered. "My mother has been transferred to St. Mungo's indefinitely to be put on observed bed rest. She's hardly passed the six months mark."

Molly's irritation was immediately replaced with maternal pity. She had seen her sister and cousins hanging out with Scorpius and had lectured them all about how they needed to stay away from him. They ignored her, as they did most of her advice, and though she usually felt justified simply being smug when they eventually proved her right, this time she had felt inclined to go a step further in preventing them from harm. Scorpius was a Malfoy, and therefore dangerous, and if they wouldn't listen to her she was going to make damn sure they listened to their parents when she told them all of their fraternization. That would surely put a stop to it.

But now she no longer saw a monster, but a scared teenage boy worried desperately about his mother and baby sister.

"You shouldn't worry so much about this," Albus insisted kindly. "Everything will be okay. She's being seen by the top Healers in the country."

"Besides, you have to be tough when you're an older brother. No room for tears!" James proclaimed, grinning wildly as he tried to make light of the situation.

Molly frowned at James' response. She couldn't help but think back to years ago, when her own family had spent a holiday pacing the waiting room floor of St. Mungo's as they suffered through an unexpected and complicated birth. Her Aunt Ginny had been rushed to the hospital during the family's Easter lunch when she went into labor two and a half months early. Molly had only been five, but she remembered the sadness and despair that had hung over them all. She remembered her Uncle Harry had kept running between Ginny's bed and the family, giving them updates that were no updates at all. Her Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron sat rigidly still, her uncle's hand never leaving the small bump in her aunt's stomach. Grandpa Arthur tried to keep things optimistic but was foiled by her sobbing namesake. Her own father paced frantically back and forth, touching her head constantly as though it were her that were the sick one and jumping with fright anytime her sleeping toddler sister moved in their mother's arms.

Molly had taken it upon herself to hold and care for James. He was eighteen months old and couldn't understand where his mother had gone. Harry, so frantic over Ginny's and the baby's condition, seemed to pay his oldest son little mind. Molly cradled her cousin, told him stories, and wiped his tears away when he cried silently.

Molly had only been five years old, but she would never forget the way that James clung to her, or the way her family clung to one another. Even at that age she recognized how important it was to have family during such a crisis.

And she would certainly never forget the joy that filled the room when Harry rolled out a beaming Ginny, cradling an extremely small but energized Albus in her arms.

"You don't understand!" Scorpius snapped. "I'm over fourteen years older than her. I don't get to just be an older brother, I'm another parent. I didn't get to enjoy the fun part of making babies and got no say on having another stupid constellation-Titan hybrid name in the family, but I'm a parent none the less!"

This time it wasn't Molly who silenced the room. A look of intense shame crossed James face as he stared down at his trainers. Lily looked like she was about to cry and stepped to Freddy for comfort. Rose's broken heart was apparent in her face as she handed over her control on his scarf. Molly only stared, feeling a kinship to this boy she knew none of her younger cousins could truly appreciate.

"Thank you," Scorpius said both stiffly and sadly. "Now like Molly said, I can't be here so…"

"Wait!" Molly called softly. "I can't let you wander alone around this drafty castle covered in melted snow. Sit by the fire the lot of you and I'll get you all a change of clothes."

Molly ran part way up the tower stairs before closing her eyes to imagine what she intended to Summon. She grinned mischievously before holding up her wand.

"_Accio_."

"What's all this?" James asked impressed as she dropped the load of goods on the table nearest the fire.

"Your clothing and a few…provisions," Molly grinned.

"Butter beers, cauldron cakes…is that an entire pound of Honeyduke's fudge?" Hugo asked in wonder.

"Sure is," Molly replied.

"Where'd you get all of this?" Lily gasped.

"It's all the food and drink I've either confiscated from students or that has just been left behind carelessly in the Common Room," she explained.

"Hoarder!" Lucy laughed, grabbing herself a slightly dinted Chocolate Frog.

"No, I've been instructed to keep the good and record any pattern of offense each term before destroying it all," she explained calmly.

"And is this the Hogwarts-approved method of destroying such product?" Albus inquired with a goading smile.

"Not exactly. But then again the school term _did_ just end so I'm not technically held by its term rules," Molly replied matter-of-factly.

"Wow Molly. When you choose to be cool you go all out!" Freddy exclaimed, slapping James' hand away from his stock pile.

"First things first, all of you change out of those wet jackets and put on some proper clothes," she insisted, handing out a pile of hand-made sweaters.

"I don't have anything else," Scorpius said quietly as he shivered in his high-fashion black cloak.

"Now, you didn't think I would leave you out, did you?" she asked kindly, handing him a dark green bundle. Scorpius eyed it suspiciously before taking it and rolling it out. He looked in utter confusion at the slightly faded emerald sweater with a white "M" stitched in the middle.

"Green's my favorite color," Molly explained to the Confunded Malfoy. "And I've since gotten an upgrade as that doesn't fit me anymore."

"You've got to be joking," Scorpius stated flatly, looking at the garb with a look of repulsion and desire.

"You've got to wear it, Malfoy!" Albus proclaimed ecstatically as he pulled his own monogramed Weasley sweater over his head.

"Yeah, we've all got ours on," Lily giggled as she wrapped herself up in her light blue garment.

"You know you want to," Rose nudged him playfully. Scorpius scowled and looked darkly at the sweater.

"What the hell," he finally said, tossing his cloak aside and sliding it on. "It's not like my Dad isn't already right about to have a heart attack."

After straightening it out across his chest he paused and an almost painful look crossed his face.

"So, how does it feel?" Molly asked in humor.

"Bloody hell," he expressed. "This may be the most comfortable thing I've ever worn in my life! What did your grandma knit this out of, baby clouds?"

They all shared in a laugh, fighting and sharing in the teeth-rotting sweetfest she had presented to them. Molly was content to just sit back and watch them eat and joke with one another in front of the fire, keeping an eye out as Albus and Rose kept Scorpius full of smiles.

"_You were wrong about one thing, Scorpius." _Molly thought quietly to herself._ "Some of us do know what it's like to be a sister and a parent."_

…

Teddy couldn't believe what he was holding. It was all that he could do not to grab his chest as he quickly sat back against the old faded arm chair. He looked up at the anxious, dripping wet fourteen year old who shifted uncomfortably against the back drop of his rare books and antiquities store. Teddy would have never expected such a gesture, never even _considered_ it possible.

The boy cleared his throat and crossed his arms as the silence between them went from awkward to deathly. Teddy couldn't figure out what he was aiming for, what he wanted, until he noticed how the boy nervously rapt his fingers against his arm as though unwittingly playing some kind of instrument. Most people would have written such a movement off as a tick, if they even noticed it at all, but to Teddy it caused his breath to hitch.

For it wasn't a random tick, but a learned habit. A habit he imagined the boy picked up from his grandmother, who in turn picked it up from an older sister…

Teddy looked back down at the rusty tin box he had been presented with. Inside was old costume jewelry made by children over half a century ago. Two tiny teddy bears with sloppily hand stitched "N"s and "A"s on them smiled back sweetly. But what really caught his eye was the picture of two young girls, one with soft dark hair and the other with long blonde braids laughing and dancing with one another.

"Where did you get this?" Teddy finally asked, his voice much steadier than he felt.

"My grandmother's attic," the boy replied sheepishly. "After…well, she sent me and my dad to destroy these boxes. I managed to save this because I thought, well..."

Teddy looked down again at the tin box. The first thing he felt was overwhelming sadness. He watched as the girl with soft brown hair embraced her younger sister. His grandmother was gone, just like his grandfather and the parents he had never known. His whole life she had been his only blood relative, the only family he had sometime felt he had and she had died, leaving him wandering for the past month like a ghost.

Next he felt anger as he replayed the boy's story. How dare he come? How dare he now of all times try to claim ties with him? Why should he give a damn if this boy's grandmother had been sad because the sister she had disowned passed away without her ever making amends? She had had decades to do such a thing. She still lived, while his beloved Nana would never anxiously rap her fingers on her arm again.

"I want to say sorry but I don't feel like I have the right to," the boy blurted out. "I mean I never knew her, and neither did my dad even though she was his aunt. But it just didn't feel right to throw it out when I knew there was family out there that would want it."

Teddy's then-violet eyes flicked up at him angrily at the blonde child using "the f-word" against him. The boy stepped back, realizing his error.

"The Potters and the Weasleys are my family," Teddy stated harshly, causing the boy to flinch. "And they are the best people anyone could ask for."

"I know they are," the boy answered back, taking Teddy by surprise. "I didn't bring it because I thought you were alone, I just…"

The sternness in Teddy's demeanor melted as he watched what seemed to be a composed youth struggle for words. Suddenly the reason for a young leaf on his grandmother's estranged family tree coming to him after her passing wasn't such a manipulative gesture after all.

"Scorpius, thank you," Teddy said softly, causing the Malfoy to finally lift his eyes off the ground. "You have no idea how much this means to me, what it would have meant for her. Despite all that had happened and all of the time that had passed, I could still tell my Nana missed her sister."

"Grand'Mere has hardly left her bed since she heard about her passing," Scorpius explained sadly. "Grand 'Pere has been trying to pass it off like she has a cold and won't talk to her about it. My dad and I visit all the time but she just cries and neither of us are very good at comforting her. But it got me thinking that even though it was too late for them doesn't mean it has to be too late…forever."

_"For us, you mean,"_ Teddy thought to himself. He looked once more at Scorpius, standing raw and gracefully in front of him. Though he had known of his existence he had never thought of him. Why dwell on some distant cousin from a family you would never be welcome in when you had twelve adopted cousins to keep you company?

But then again, perhaps he shouldn't be surprised that Scorpius had thought of _him_. Their grandmothers' other sister had died without progeny. His father was an only child, and while Teddy knew that his mother Astoria had a sister with two daughters he got the notion that they weren't at all close. He had seen Gregora and Vincenette Goyle on the street outside his shop before, and they seemed as unpleasant and stupid as they were round.

_ "It must have been a lonely way to grow up,"_ Teddy imagined sadly.

"Anyways, I better get going," Scorpius stated quickly, gripping his rain-drenched broomstick. "My mother tends to notice when I've been gone for half the night."

"If you'd like I can Floo you back home later," Teddy suggested kindly. "I don't know if you have the time, but I just won these ancient looking crates from Peru at an auction and I don't even know what's inside them yet. Last time I found a blood stained treasure map and half a dozen shrunken heads. Interested?"

Teddy laughed to himself as he watched Scorpius' eyes nearly burst out of his skull with excitement over the prospect.

"Yeah, I've got the time," he shrugged as nonchalantly as he could. "I'm already grounded for the rest of the summer anyways for dressing my baby sister Cassie like a Quaffle and tossing her into a pile of pillows."

"I hear mothers don't like it when you do that," Teddy laughed, walking his cousin to the back.


	11. Without a Doubt

Without a Doubt

(_A/N: So there really is no excuse. I just hope some of y'all are still out there for this story.)_

_Harry felt his heart clinch as Teddy's smiling face faded from view. He had always felt a deep kindred connection with his godson. They had both lost their parents as infants to the struggle against Voldermort, and they were the only two progeny of the Marauders. Teddy was like an odd blend of son, friend and brother to him, but no matter how he was labeled they were always family. Having grown up with the Dursleys as his only blood relatives, linage and DNA were hardly the most defining attributes in what made up Harry's concept of family. Growing up Teddy had grandparents who loved him and a slew of adopted uncles, aunts and cousins who adored the little shifter. Not once did it ever enter Harry's mind that Teddy had other family out there who wanted him. Andromeda had made it clear that she had severed all ties with her Black past, and to him that was the end of it. _

_But it wasn't the end of it, not for Teddy anyway. It had taken Harry really diving into Teddy's mind to even connect that Scorpius and Teddy were distant cousins. The kind of cousins that were some number removed to where it hardly seemed like it counted. And yet how many nights had he dreamed as a child that some distant relative would come to his cupboard and whisk him away? How often had he hoped that he was connected out there to someone who wanted him? What would he have given to have someone who shared a part of his past he knew nothing about?_

_Harry again felt a slight wash of guilt for his prejudice against the boy. Not only had his children felt the need to hide their relationship with Malfoy, but Teddy, a grown man, did as well. _

_His stomach began to twitter with anxiety and self-doubt. He knew he shouldn't feel this way but he couldn't help it. Sometimes he just felt so vulnerable and he was terrified that someone, anyone would find out and hurt him that he hid that part deep inside of him. There was just too much pressure to be perfect all the time, he couldn't just cry or be over emotional. It was better to mask those feelings with intelligence and anger. It was safer, though marginally less attractive. But why should he care so much about his looks? That was really just the media trying to sell self-esteem in its fancy cosmetics bottles and diet potions. Harry didn't need a boyfriend to complete him, he was happy with the way he was, honestly. But still he just felt so anxious that Scorpius wasn't there like he ALWAYS was. Had he done something wrong? Was Scorpius mad at him? And what the hell gave him the right to treat Harry this way? After all he had done for him? Why would he do this to him, dammit!_

_Wait….huh?_

"_Merlin, what the hell?" Ron demanded, holding tightly to his stomach. "Are you understanding all of this?"_

"_No…" Harry moaned. "I just feel achy and confused, sad yet really annoyed and I really, really want some chocolate."_

"_Welcome," Hermione laughed along with Ginny, "to the tortured world of being a fourteen year old girl."_

* * *

><p>"Are you sure he doesn't have Qudditch practice?" Rose asked her cousin anxiously, running her fingers through her feathered quill.<p>

"Nah, its Thursday night. Ravenclaws have the pitch," Albus replied, looking at his Potion's book as though he were preparing for a fight. Rose frowned and checked her watch again. It was only a minute after she had last checked it. Just like it had been only two minutes after she had checked it the time before that. Her feet tapped sporadically against the floor for a few moments, until she reminded herself she was in the library and must keep quiet.

"What about detention?" she suggested desperately.

"Well I for one think it is an archaic and unrealistic form of punishment," Albus retorted as he lazily skimmed through the pages.

"No, I mean Scorpius," she said in exasperation. "Did he get caught doing…I don't know, whatever it is you two do?"

"Rose, it's three weeks into our Fourth year, and we already have a mountain of homework for our O.W.L.s. We haven't had time to get caught doing anything," Albus sighed sadly.

"Well that's just it then!" Rose exclaimed. "We have our first round of exams coming up! He should be here with us studying!"

"Merlin knows the library is my first choice to spend my evenings," Albus yawned. Rose shot her cousin a dirty look but continued to teeter on the edge of her seat. She tried focusing on her Herbology text but she just couldn't concentrate. She and Scorpius had studied every Thursday night for the last year and a half. He had proof-read every essay she had turned in since then. They traded notes on everything. It was almost like she had forgotten how to study without him.

"Do you think he's in trouble?" Rose asked a few minutes later to an Albus who seemed to think looking at his book upside-down would be beneficial.

"Merlin, I hope so," Albus replied.

"Why would you say that?" she demanded aghast.

"Because then we could leave and go rescue him instead of you looking like you want to chew your fingers off and me pretending like I even have a chance of getting though this paper without you and Scorpius to help me," Albus said.

Rose stared irately at her cousin before swiftly packing up her bag and marching out of the library. Albus followed her, grinning at his early escape and happy to stretch out his legs.

"I just hate to think those bullies have gotten to him again," Rose worried as she recalled Lannister and the Ravenclaws hexing him in the corridor.

"Scorpius is a big boy," Albus placated with a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "He knows how to handle himself."

Rose chewed that over and decided Albus was right. Despite a rocky start Scorpius seemed to handle his precarious social position rather well. In fact between his top marks in school, his daring maneuvers that had secured Slytherin both the Qudditch and House Cup last year, and his noticeable growth spurt over the summer, Scorpius had become quite popular. She really had nothing to worry about with him…at least, she thought to herself, she hoped not.

A round of muffled, high pitched noises stole her from her internal battle. Albus and she both stopped, looking about the abandoned corridor with concern.

"Is that sound…coming from the walls?" Albus inquired, reaching into his pocket to draw out his wand. Rose immediately followed suit, bedtime stories of basilisks and invisible adversaries filling her mind. She kept her hand steady despite her blood pumping with adrenaline, ready to ward off whatever evil was coming.

Suddenly the wall beside them sprung to life as a door appeared where no door had been before to her knowledge on the seventh floor. The muffled sounds grew clearer as the door finished growing, making the indiscernible noises sound like…

"Giggles?" Albus suggested as he lowered his wand.

As if responding to a secret passage word the door quickly opened, revealing the source of the high pitched laughter. Two blondes appeared, one with a white partially unbuttoned-blouse and hiked up skirt, both much too small for her to be modestly covered, and the other was someone who had never in her years of knowing him ever looked so happily disheveled.

Rose felt her weight double in hot anger every second it took for Scorpius to finally pull his lecherous lips away from the Fifth year's neck and look at her.

"Oh," Scorpius finally exclaimed, a hint of surprise invading his usually languid speech.

"Oh?" Rose repeated through clinched teeth, so angry she couldn't form any other word. "Oh. Oh?!"

Scorpius replied with blank silence as though the blood from his usually sharp mind was drained to someplace else.

"Hi, I'm Albus," the Potter grinned, looking back and forth between his seemingly Petrified best friends and the new comer like he was about to burst into laughter.

"Oh, right," Scorpius finally kicked into gear. "These are my friends, Albus Potter and Rose Weasley. And this is…erm…Carrie."

"Perry," she corrected through another one of her obnoxious giggles, pushing him affectionately as though he were joking.

"That's what I said, right?" he played off smoothly, wrapping his snake-like arm around her waist as he looked her up and down again.

"So, how did you two meet?" Albus inquired with a stretched grin. His smile immediately faltered when he felt Rose's intense gaze burned through him.

"Your friend is just sooooooooooooooo sweet!" Carrie/Perry proclaimed, clinging herself on Scorpius like a static sock. "We started talking in the Great Hall and he offered to escort me to the library. Did you know that it was open even when you're not in class?"

"No way!" Albus replied peppily.

"I know, right?" she exclaimed. "Well, come to find out, on the way there he tells me that his favorite animal in the whole world is a Pygmy Puff! And guess what mine happens to be?"

"Hippogriff," Rose stated so bitterly that it sounded like _hypocrite_.

"Eww! Those nasty pony things? No, a Pygmy Puff!" she exclaimed. "And I had just read my horoscope in an old copy of Witch Weekly that I would meet someone special who loved the same animal as me. I mean, it was like destiny or something that I'd meet Scorpy!"

Albus coughed away his snigger while Scorpius' face paled more than usual.

"Well, I'd hate to interfere and make you _late_ with destiny," Rose spat as she walked away. "That would be exceedingly rude of me."

* * *

><p>"<em>I'm going to kill that little bugger!"<em> _Ron exclaimed as the smoke cleared and they found themselves, surprise surprise, back in the library. "How dare he-,"_

"_Don't even start, Won-Won," Hermione interjected sharply. Ron turned to his wife as though she had slapped him. _

"_Why would you even bring that up now?" he demanded._

_Harry shook his head as he focused on his niece returning a stack full of books to a shelf, one of which read "The Supreme Twenty-Eight: Ancestry of the Noble Pure-Bloods of England."_

"More like "Incestry"," Rose mumbled as she turned from the shelf. She cleared her mind, no longer wanting to focus on what she had already known to be true. If it hadn't been for her hard-wired need for facts and follow through she wouldn't have bothered her research in the first place. It had been a waste of time, just like everything about him.

She sighed and made her way back to her table. Her Charms Exam was tomorrow and she needed to spend her time focusing on her Summoning.

"_Accio_," she repeated under her breath with closed eyes. "_Accio."_

She opened her eyes in just enough time to see a large book fly straight towards her face. Rose didn't even have time to wince before she felt the solid cover brush against her nose. She gasped and jumped backwards, but somehow the book had been suspended in mid-air. To her upmost displeasure she saw Scorpius standing behind her with his wand out.

"_Depulso_," she spat at him, making a mental note to learn the rest of the theory behind the Banishment Charm as she snatched her textbook out of the air.

"Come on, I don't get anything for that?" Scorpius demanded as she stormed past him.

"Frankly I would have preferred the concussion," she stated without looking at him.

"Rose, I said I was sorry," Scorpius reminded as he followed her. "I told you I just lost track of time."

"It's not a problem," she said stiffly. "Why learn theoretical Herbology with me when you've found someone willing to study practical Anatomy with you?"

"Rosie, it's not like that…"

"I hear it's a fascinating subject," Rose continued as she packed up her table. "Let me know when you learn how to pull your own head out of your arse."

A moment of silence spread between them which only caused Rose to stew harder.

"Okay, I know you're really angry at me, but can we just take a second to celebrate how _brilliant _that insult was?" Scorpius inquired with a grin. It took everything Rose had not to smile when she turned around to see his beaming face.

"Scorpius…"

"High-five me," he demanded, raising his hand so earnestly she couldn't help but laugh. She bit her lip as she thought about how much she had missed him. They had hardly seen each other outside of class since they had returned to school, and despite her anger at him she really didn't want to keep pushing him away. Apparently the thought made her smile, an infection Scorpius willingly caught. She was just about to curse his charming eyes that smiled along with his mouth when they were suddenly covered by a pair of slender hands with sparkling red nail polish.

"Guess who?" a light voice with a hint of an Italian accent inquired.

"The ghost of extremely bad timing," Scorpius moaned as another adorned hand slid across his stomach.

"It's Isabella!" the recently arrived, extremely attractive exchange student proclaimed, stepping in between he and Rose. "You had promised me a sugar-free gelato after we discovered we both abstained from artificial sweeteners. I thought we could spend the time figuring out what else we have in common. And maybe later what we have that is, how you say, _different_."

Rose turned on her heel and stormed off, Summoning her bag from the table and praying it had hit them both as it sped successfully into her arms.

* * *

><p>Rose walked briskly passed the Library, unwilling to spare it a glance as though facing it would lure her in. For once in her school career she wanted nothing to do with the place. She had received top marks on all her exams and that was with the majority of her studying done in the busy Common Room. It might have been crowded and prone to the occasional explosion of a Wheeze, but it had the upmost advantage of barring out undesirables.<p>

Besides, it was a Hogsmeade weekend, and she wanted nothing more than to warm up with a Butterbeer, visit her Uncle George at his franchise shop, and stuff her pockets with as much Honeydukes' chocolate as she could carry. She pushed all unpleasant thoughts out of her mind as she walked with Clair and Tim back to the Common Room. Both were anxious to meet up with Albus who had opted to sleep in, and both carried scraps of bacon and toast to feed him. Rose was excited about getting out of the castle as well. Fresh air and distractions would serve her well.

The three friends were about to round the staircase leading to their tower when suddenly it was like all of the light had been sucked out of the world. Rose heard the crowded corridor gasp in surprise, and both of her companions had begun to cast light spells to no avail. Rose too gripped her wand, but didn't bother casting _Lumos_. She knew enough about Peruvian Instant Darkness powder to know nothing short of extraordinary magic and time could shift through its effects.

Before she could turn to where she remembered Clair being to tell her this a hand clapped over her mouth. She was grabbed by the arm and tugged with gentle force away from where she stood. She sucked in her breath to scream, but as she did she took in the familiar spice of a designer cologne.

A few moments later she was brought to a classroom unaffected by the darkness. She turned to face her hooded captor and immediately punched him in the stomach.

"Oi! Shite, Rose! It's me!" Scorpius moaned, doubling over and dropping his candle holder to the floor.

"I know!" she shouted, stomping on his foot for good measure. "And what the hell is that thing?"

She stepped away in disgust as she looked at the rotten, shriveled limb that Scorpius had dropped on the floor.

"It's my Hand of Glory," Scorpius answered through heavy breath. "My father gave it to me."

"It's disgusting," she scowled, turning away from both it and him.

"Not all of us have a security blanket we can throw over our heads whenever we need to stay hidden," Scorpius spat with wounded pride as he secured his hood.

"What the hell are you doing, Scorpius?" Rose finally demanded.

"I need…" he said hesitantly, as though just remembering the purpose for his dramatics. "I need your help."

"You need my help?" she scoffed. "After you have been a complete an utter arse you kidnap me and ask for my help?"

Scorpius paused before responding.

"Yes…" he replied only slightly sheepishly. Rose stared at him incredulously.

"Why on earth should I help you?"

"Because we're friends, Rose. You're my best friend, actually," he answered, growing a bit pale with the admission.

"No we aren't," she stated. "If we were best friends you wouldn't stand me up constantly for a rotation of girls you don't even seem to care about!"

"Rosie, I tried to apologize…"

"And I don't want to be best friends with a louse who uses his extremely rare and special abilities to trick girls into snogging him!"

Scorpius inhaled sharply, his bright eyes growing wide with shock at her exclamation.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said quietly as he averted his gaze from her.

"You are such a liar!" she shouted. "And I'm sick of it! I'm not one of your stupid scarlet women. I know what you are. I've known for ages."

Scorpius stared at her, his square jaw clenching tensely and his bright eyes shading grey. A brief spasm of alert spilled down Rose's spine and for the first time she understood why so many people were intimidated by the Malfoys. She had never seen him look like this, and she definitely didn't like it.

"What am I, Rose?" he dared darkly.

"A Seer," she replied without hesitation. Scorpius immediately looked away, confirming once and for all that she was right. The moment he tore his eyes away from her he went back to feeling like normal Scorpius. Angry and irate, yet no more a monster.

"You're a Seer. It runs through your mother's side of the family so it's harder to track genetically, but you come from a line of those believed to have the Sight," she reported.

"How do you know?" he asked her sharply, and, a bit painfully.

"You haven't exactly been subtle with it," she spat with folded arms. "Perry and the Puff, Bella and the sugar, Albus and the "Freak Icestorm", me and the…"

"Glumbumbles," he finished, tearing his head away from her.

"Your eyes flashed white," she replied, much more calmly than she felt she had in ages to him. "I had already suspected, but when I saw that and you _knew _what I wanted to write my paper on…there weren't really too many explanations for that."

"Have you told anyone?" he inquired fearfully. Rose was taken aback from his look of intensity. She couldn't believe how quickly he had gone from a fierce monster to wounded animal.

"Of course not."

Scorpius let out a deep sigh of relief as he collapsed into a nearby chair. He stared at his feet for a few moments before finally looking back at her.

"I'm sorry," he expressed genuinely. "I'm sorry for being an inconsiderate arse. I never meant to hurt your feelings or…make you…upset."

Rose perked up in alert at the end of his apology. He had struggled with the word "upset" as if it were a cover up for something else. As if he thought there were some deeper reason why this whole mess had affected her so hard.

"I'm not jealous!" she exclaimed loudly, possibly a bit _too_ loudly. Scorpius sat up straight in his chair as though bit by something extremely awkward.

"I didn't mean to imply that you were," he stated gently. Rose groaned inwardly and took her own seat across the table from him. They sat in a painfully uncomfortable silence, neither of them quite able to look at the other.

"Well, I mean, now that it's out there, I might be a little jealous," she admitted softly.

"You don't say?" Scorpius asked with a cocked eyebrow. Rose allotted a small laugh at his swagger, immediately defusing the harsh tension that had been separating them for weeks.

"Not of the whole snogging you in inappropriate places part," she cleared up quickly. "But, I don't know, things have changed, haven't they? And I'm glad other people like you now, truly, but I just hated feeling like I…and Albus…didn't matter to you anymore. It really, really upset me."

"Rose, you…and Albus…mean everything to me. And I'm sorry if I acted otherwise. I promise I won't let those stupid scarlet women come between us."

Rose rolled her eyes at him using her outdated terminology against her and laughed.

"I do!" he exclaimed happily. "Honestly, they don't mean anything to me."

"Well don't say that!" she expressed quickly.

"Why not?" he asked in defense.

"Because, if you're going to do…what you do…it should only be with one girl who you are in a proper, committed relationship with," she lectured.

"Ah, one of _those_," he stated with mocking distaste. "I never did fancy myself involved in such a scheme. I am quite busy with school and Quidditch and my demanding, judgmental friends. How would I ever have the time for something like that?"

"Well you can start by telling the truth to girls and not using your power for personal gain," she retorted with crossed arms.

"If only it worked like that," he grinned. "But trust me, it involves a mild amount of effort to get girls to want to be alone with me."

"I can't imagine why," Rose bantered. "Why go with the truth when you can lie about yourself."

"Because I'd be terrified of the girl who wanted to be with the actual me," Scorpius grimaced. "She would be a fierce thing to behold and a rather poor judge of character."

Rose laughed again, tempted to counter his argument, but then thought better of it.

"So what exactly did you black out the main corridor and kidnap me for?" Rose asked with folded arms, eyeing the hood that stuck firmly to his head.

"Oh…erm, well, it turns out that both Isabella and Perry are in one of those proper, committed relationships you mentioned, and their significant others weren't exactly thrilled with me…"

Scorpius dropped his hood with extreme agony. Rose immediately burst into laughter as he revealed his coveted hair had been turned into a squirming mess of green and yellow vines, which now free from their dark cover began to grow.

"Don't laugh at me," he grumbled.

"You look like a chia pet!" she barked, though she did manage to swallow the rest of her jeers.

"I don't know what that is, but I need you to fix it!" he exclaimed.

"Why don't you just go to Madam Pomfrey?" she asked.

"Have you seen her hair? I'll end up looking worse than Albus. Please help me, Rose. You're the only one I trust with this."

Rose was extremely taken aback by such a sentiment. Scorpius was robustly fond of his hair, a vanity that usually annoyed her. Yet she couldn't help but beam and think of how out of everyone in the school, he had come to her for help. She agreed to give it her best shot and gently began to Transfigure the growing mass back into his silky locks.

"Scorpius?" Rose asked sometime later after working diligently around his ears. "What did you mean by you saying your Sight didn't work that way? How does it work?"

Scorpius sighed like he really didn't want to talk about it, but obliged her with answers none the less.

"I'm not really sure," he admitted. "I don't really have any control of when it happens or what I See. Most of the time I don't even get visions or learn anything useful."

"What do you mean?" she inquired gently.

"Like…okay, so last year you and I were studying, and all of a sudden I just knew that you're going to lose one of your favorite shoes."

"I'm going to lose my favorite pair of shoes?" she asked with a chuckle.

"Not even the whole pair! Just the left one. That I knew distinctly. But when and how and where or even which pair of shoes I have no idea. I couldn't even tell you if it's a shoe you kicked off your foot as a baby or if it's something you misplace because you're a hundred years old and senile. But I know without a doubt one day you will lose a left shoe," he explained. "It's like…have you ever recalled an extremely obscure fact that you don't even remember learning but somehow without a doubt you know it's true?"

"Yes," Rose replied with a smile.

"Most of the time it's like that," he stated, visibly relieved that she seemed to understand. "Like before I was born I was told all of this asinine trivia and it comes to me randomly. I really don't care that Flitwick tried a new toothpaste this morning and liked it, and it's really a waste of my time to know what Bryony is going to say about her school robes a minute before she says it. Once is more than enough."

"What is it like the other times?" she inquired. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Sometimes I get pictures in my head," he said slowly. "Like with Albus and his Fantasy League. I saw him holding the newspaper with the typo headline and the date on it. Those are usually a little clearer than when I just "know" something."

"And what about with me and the Glumbumbles?" she asked gently. "I've never seen your eyes get like that before."

"That only happens when I actually have a genuine premonition," he explained. "Which is very, very rare."

"You've had a premonition about me?" she asked in shock. "What was it about?"

"Nope, I'm not going to tell you," he stated smugly.

"Why not?" she demanded, poking his head playfully with her wand.

"Because," he laughed. "I want it to come true for you."

Rose withdrew her wand and looked at him intently.

"I don't get stung by Glumbumbles, do I?" she asked seriously. Scorpius shrugged.

"How should I know?" he grinned. Rose smacked him playfully as she finished transforming the last of his hair. She pulled a mirror out of her purse to let him inspect.

"You really are brilliant at what you do, Weasley," he said after letting out a relieved breath. "Perfect, as always."

Rose narrowed her eyes, unsure if he was speaking about her spellwork or his looks, but shook her head either way. As she watched him recheck his reflection at different angles she realized a weight she hadn't even known she had carried had been lifted. She had meant what she said about it deeply upsetting her when she thought he didn't care for her, but she never stopped to analyze just what that meant. She didn't want to lose Scorpius in her life, but more than anyone he was the highest risk for loss. They were in different Houses, typically socialized with different people, and asides from her cousins and Hugo most of her friends didn't understand why she cared for him. It was even somewhat hard to explain to herself. But she knew without a doubt that her life would be lesser without him in it.

She smiled at her own silly form of Sight, and snatched the mirror away from Scorpius to bring herself back in the moment.

"I really do need to start requesting a resume before hooking up with girls, shouldn't I?" he jested as he continued to play with his hair. "We wouldn't want this happening again."

"You could start by learning their name and relationship status before you shove your tongue down their throat," she suggested.

"I'll write that down," he smirked.

"An intelligence test wouldn't hurt either," she continued. "I mean honestly…she read her horoscope in an _old_ copy of Witch Weekly, and believed you when you said a Puff was your favorite animal? Oh! And when did you start to abstain from artificial sweeteners? Because I'm pretty sure you eat crystalized sugar cubes on the regular."

"You know, I did say it took a mild amount of effort," he grumbled, grinning despite of himself as he motioned towards the door.

"Hey, Scorpius," she said suddenly, one more thought popping in her mind. "Can I ask you one last question?"

He sighed as if questioning the validity of her inquiry, but stopped and waited for her to continue.

"Why do you want to keep your Sight a secret? It's kind of a big deal," Rose exclaimed. Scorpius on the other hand made a face like she had said something truly vulgar.

"Because I don't want to become some kind of Gypsy fortune teller," he scoffed. "I don't want people berating me with questions about their love life or if they're going to be rich and famous. The whole thing is usually just a hassle because I end up either knowing something I wish I hadn't or something I really don't care about."

"But you have a gift," she pressed. "You could use it to help people."

"Why? The Sight never shows anything about me," he told pompously.

"What about with your Qudditch captain and what he did to the first string Seeker?" Rose suggested, trying to stay on target. "That helped you stay on the team."

"It was also a bluff," he replied with a slightly proud smile. "I have no idea what Flint did to Bole."

"You won Albus over by helping him with Qudditch," she refreshed.

"Albus always loved me," he proclaimed.

"We might never have become friends if it wasn't for your premonition," she pointed out.

"True," he relented. "But I'm still not sure that was such a good thing."

"You know I still haven't officially forgiven you," she reminded with crossed arms.

"Ah, yes," he muttered, flashing her a grin as he continued to muse. "I guess I don't really consider it a gift or a power. It's just something that happens to me, and half the time I can't even be sure it's not just something I made up. I can't control it or focus it, and anyhow it's a bit embarrassing."

"How is it embarrassing?" she asked in confusion.

"How is this one last question?" he repeated with snark. Rose simply glared at him until he replied.

"Because it's like you said," he groaned. "It's something from my mother's side that has always been passed down the female line. There's no record of a male descendent with the Sight. My father would go mental."

"First off," Rose began, pausing to smack him in the back of his perfectly preened hair, "don't be such a chauvinistic pig. And secondly, your father doesn't know?"

"No. I think my mum does, but we've never discussed it. You're actually the only one I've ever talked about this with," Scorpius admitted.

Another silence spread between them, but this time it wasn't so awkward. For some reason Rose felt herself begin to blush while Scorpius stared at her profoundly. Her heart beat loudly in her chest and for some extremely odd reason her kneecaps seemed to have disappeared. She had no idea why she suddenly felt this way. Scorpius looked at her all the time. But this…this was different. And as alarming as it was she definitely felt emptier when he finally cleared his throat and looked away.

"We, erm, should probably get going," he suggested, pointing his head towards the door.

"Right," she replied with no real urgency. "Tim and Clair are probably worried sick about me."

They continued to stand rooted in their stance, captured by the lingering power of a significant moment.

"What are you thinking?" Scorpius asked her gently. Rose smiled and flipped her hair behind her shoulder playfully.

"Why don't you tell me?"

Scorpius released his full, genuine smile as he accepted her challenge. Her breath caught in her throat as he grabbed her hands and held them in his own. She watched him close his eyes and take a deep, purposeful inhalation. She couldn't help but study the determined set of his jaw, the smooth curve of his lips, and noticed for the first time just how long his eyelashes were. When he finally opened his bright aqua eyes she couldn't help the squeamish dread that he might actually read her mind.

"You're thinking that you're glad I kidnapped you, and the despite popular opinion you're relieved to know I can actually apologize. And even though you had to drag it out of me you're happy that I confided in you, if for no other reason than so I have one less secret I have to bare alone," he professed slowly.

Rose stared at him, and immediately felt her kneecaps abandon her again. As if knowing she needed the extra support, Scorpius squeezed the hands he continued to hold gently.

"You're absolutely right," she breathed in amazement.

"I am?" he whispered intimately.

"Yeah," she replied, then flashed him her most Malfoy of smirks. "You really can't just turn it on, can you?"

She spun on her heel, blushing but grinning wildly and treasuring the Confunded look on his face as she ran out the door.

She didn't need to be a mind reader to know he'd catch up.


End file.
